Columnist Paul H. Hallett in his article Contraception Leads to Abortion Designs (The National Catholic Register, June 26, 1977) says:

True contraception is not the taking of life, but it is only a step removed from it. It does not destroy an independent human organism, but it prevents, by human contrivance, the meeting of male and female germ cells by which a human being comes into existence. Its fundamental malice is that it does not respect human life, or it usurps a dominion over life-giving powers that does not belong to man.

The contraceptive mentality, then, is one that rejects the child as a result of the marriage act, and therefore does not respect human life. This disrespect for human life is the basis for abortion, euthanasia, "mercy killing," etc., because man is rejecting God's Providential care for him. In his Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul says;

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those men that detain the truth of God. When they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but became vain in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened. For professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. (Rom. 1:18, 21&22)

Josef Cardinal Mindszenty, Primate of the Catholic Church in Hungary, was well aware of the "contraceptive mentality." In a sermon preached at a parish anniversary and before his arrest by the Communists, he shared these admonitions:

The number of Catholics in this parish has been steadily increasing. In 1781, there were 2,351. In 1941 there were 7,500. I must hope that the worm of sin has not begun to gnaw at the lives of the Catholic families of our nation. Some Hungarian families are suffering from various "modern ailments" like abortion and divorce. Do not let your own families suffer from such ailments. Remember the example of your forefathers, who would not permit anything to undermine the structure of the family.

The modern family is exposed to many temptations. All Catholic young people must struggle to remain pure in body and soul. Also keep this in mind: The life conceived in the womb already constitutes a living individual, a person like ourselves. An unborn child has just s much right to live as a child lying in the cradle or in its mother's arms; it has as much right to live as you or 1. It is also sinful to "be careful --'to deliberately attempt to avoid pregnancy -- for all rights involve responsibilities. Those who attempt to avoid the responsibility of conceiving a child turn the sanctuary of marriage into a den of iniquity. The marriage partners become companions in sin. Their marriage will never be blessed by God.

(One of the things the Cardinal unfortunately observed in later years, from looking out of his window when under period of enforced Communist governmental restriction, was the lessening of the number of children in the families he could see passing along on the street outside. This, he knew, was the result of the liberal, socialistic changes in the country, the loosening of the hold of the Church upon the people, and their own loss of faith. To his grief, he was seeing his people "modernize" before his very eyes.)

In The Mystical City of God, Our Blessed Mother tells us that we lose so very many blessings by not trusting in God:

They hold themselves aloof from the Divine Providence, which is powerful and sweet and unfailing ... men are given over to their own solicitudes, which are inefficient and weak, blind, uncertain and inconsiderate. From this false beginning originate and follow irreparable evils for man; for he deprives himself of the Divine Protection and falls from the dignity of having his Creator as his Helper and Defender. And what is still worse, if by his carnal wisdom and diabolical astuteness to which man resigns himself he succeeds sometimes in obtaining what he seeks, he deems himself fortunate on account of this, his own misfortune! And with sensible pleasure he imbibes the poison of eternal death in the deceitful delight, which he has gained, while incurring the alienation and abhorrence of his God (The Mystical City of God, The Conception, pg. 557).

All these things we see in our society, and they are in great part the result of the contraceptive mentality which prevails today.