Donald DeMarco

In the following viewpoint, Donald DeMarco contends that because the use of contraception is an expression of self- interest, it blocks the unselfish intimacy that should exist between husband and wife. The act of preventing conception by unnatural means, he argues, is usually a couple’s attempt to exert control over their lives by limiting the number of children they have. However, this attempt at control is based on an egoistic desire for a certain lifestyle or standard of living—self-centered needs that interfere with genuine intimacy. Only conjugal love that is unfettered by the self-interest evident in the use of contraception leads to true marital harmony and societal well-being, the author maintains. DeMarco is a philosophy professor at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and author of several books, including New...