Recent studies corroborate the Christian vision of sexuality that the Church has always believed. Some studies suggest that the rise of contraception accounts for a doubling in divorce rates from 1965-1975. Other investigations suggest that the presence of more than one child can be crucial to the survival of marriages. And surely links exist between the rejection of children which lies at the heart of contraceptive use, and the growing acceptance of abortion. When the needs of children are no longer a priority for both parents, marital permanence is also undermined.
Children experience a profound personal insecurity.
Our culture emphasizes the importance of romance or erotic love to the exclusion of other expressions of married love, as well as other important intimate relationships that a person can have within the family, the Church and society. When the erotic dimension dominates marriage, children can be seen as a threat to married love, rather than its crowning gift. Couples may fear the responsibility of parenthood and so needlessly rob themselves of the graces, blessings and dignity that fathers and mothers enjoy. Unless shaped by the demands of marriage and family life, erotic love can create selfishness in the person and confuse the perspective from which all other relationships are seen. A person absorbed by the erotic can be blind to the rich value of many or all of these relationships.