Pro-life pharmacy owners put God first in lives
TAMPA,Fla. (The Florida Catholic) - David and Carmen Cartaya own a business here called David’s Pharmacy. But they make it clear they are not the boss.
God is.
“The No. 1 thing in David’s and my life is God and religion,” Carmen, 57, said. “No. 2: the family. No. 3 is extended family. No. 4 is more family. And No. 5 is our job. Our profession.”
They also make it clear that life matters.
Stop by their store, at the corner of West Martin Luther King Boulevard and North Armenia Avenue, and this fact becomes immediately clear - from the pro-life pamphlets and videos to the fetal models to the large banner inside the store that reads, “If you’re pregnant, it’s a baby. Choose life.”
As devout Catholics, they practice what they preach. When they got married in 1969, they did not use contraception, but followed natural family planning, David, 61, said. In the years that followed, three sons became part of their family.
When David became a pharmacist, he worked for several companies, but the couple decided in the mid-1970s to start their business. As owners, the couple decided not to sell birth control pills or other contraceptives, a practice they have kept to for about 30 years now.
“We wanted to please God first before men,” David said. “God's laws and our faith meant more than anything else.”
The couple, who were born in Cuba and met each other in Tampa, do not know how many lives they have touched because of their pro-life witness, which is offered in English and in Spanish.
“Only God knows,” David said.
But Carmen recalls one woman who came into the store who considered the fetus growing inside her as “real and alive,” but her friends kept telling her to have an abortion because, if she didn’t, she would be “crazy.” The woman happened to see one of the pro-life signs at David’s Pharmacy, Carmen said, and told her friends, “Somebody else doesn’t think I’m crazy.” And she decided to keep the baby.
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Okay, it's acceptable for Catholics to use biology/math (natural family planning) to avoid having children, but using chemistry (BC pills) is a evil sin.
Props to Menchen for pointing this out.
Besides, it shouldn't matter anyway, as Psalm 139 points out, God has already picked out the day each of us are going to be born, so whether our parents use birth control or even have sex should not matter.
What a sweet story!
Hoodlum, try harder. Your arguments are too simplistic, you can do better. You know you can do a better job at intellectual heavylifting than what that statment above shows. You know you can, right? You're better, brighter and smarter than these dumb Catholics, right?
Hoodlum,
Go back to your bridge.
Yes there is a difference between
telling God "No kids, no way" vs.
taking the time and energy to find
those times when the wife is infertile
and making use of them.
There is an element of sacrifice in NFP.
Birth control is an act of indulgence.
Hoodlum,
NFP and BC share a similar ends. However, the manner in which the end is achieved is in stark contrast. BC separates the unitive and procreative aspects of sex. NFP does not. In the case of NFP, people who desire not to conceive abstain from sex periodically (you know, the time around ovulation).
To put it to a familiar adage, It's not whether you win or lose. It's how you play the game.
One the other hand, should a couple decide they want to conceive. With NFP, the method is practically reversible almost instantly. With hormonal BC, you have to wait several months after you stop taking the BC so as to minimize the potential for birth defects caused by the hormone treatments. Read the label. The pharmecuetacals don't want to be sued.
The main difference is one is saying "I'll accept the fertility cycle God has given me...the whole while being open to life, and wait to have children"
While contraception is just that--against conception. Closed to Life. However, we shouldn't forget that NFP can be practiced with a contraceptive mentality--which would then be just as sinful as using artificial contraception.
Sadly, in my home state of Illinois, under our communist governor Rod "Slobodan" Blagojevich, the pharmacy described in this article would be in violation of state law for not dispensing birth control pills. Apparently, according to Mr. Blagojevich, the right of any woman to get any birth control pill at any pharmacy of her choosing trumps the right of pharmacists to follow their conscience and the teachings of their religion. :-/
Hoodlum,
If you see so little difference between NFP and contraception, then why don't you personally switch to NFP instead of contraception (assuming that you are married)? I mean, if there is so little difference morally, then why not try one instead of the other?
But I'm guessing that if you actually switched to NFP yourself, or even just seriously considered doing so, then all of a sudden the differences would become a lot more clear.
Big Tex,
You do know that NFP isn't just for avoiding pregnancy, don't you?
This is a pet peeve of mine, when even well-meaning, NFP-supporting Christians overlook the fact that NFP is fertility awareness and works just as well for people who want to conceive.
People don't stop practicing NFP when they want to have a baby - many people use NFP to have a baby, especially if they are having trouble conceiving.
And NFP can be effective for infertile couples even when modern, invasive chemical and surgical techniques fail. Spread the word!
P.S. Hormonal birth control also has the unadvertised effect of lowering fertility long after it is discontinued, sometimes permanently. Many women don't this out until it's too late.
Leah, yes, I do know this. My wife and I are instructors.
Above, I stated that NFP is reversible. That means, one can try to avoid pregnancy for a while, as well as reverse their previous intention to avoid conception and actually attempt conception.
I drew this point to contrast NFP with the dire side effects of BC.
As I said above, the ends of NFP and BC are similar. I did not say that they are identical, for the specific reason I just stated.
Pray for us. We are a independent pharmacy. I want to go completely pro-life, my husband doesn't want to instill our beliefs on others. We have used NFP ourselves and have been blessed with seven beautiful children, all wanted and all very much loved.