Humanae Vitae, a Generation Later

by Janet E. Smith

Rather than end the debate over artificial means of contraception once and for all, the encyclical letter Humane Vitae only energized the debate when it appeared in 1968, and that debate continues to this day. Janet E. Smith presents a comprehensive review of this issue from a philosophical and theological perspective. Tracing the emergence of the debate from the mid-1960s and reviewing the documents from the Special Papl Commission established to advise Pope Paul VI, Smith also examines the Catholic Church's position on marriage, which provides context for its condemnation of contraception. Janet E. Smith is assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Dallas. She has published articles in such journals as The Thomist, International Philosophical Quarterly , and The New Scholasticism .

Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Janet Elizabeth Smith (born 1950) is an American classicist and philosopher, and former professor of moral theology at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan.

Reviews

['dumebi]

In the book,Prof J.E Smith, reviews the teachings of the Catholic Church on human life,particularly on the issue of the morality in or of contraceptive birth control.She does a very good work of highlighting the teachings of the Catholic Church agaainst evidences in our present day society. Without any moralising, J.E Smith brings to the fore what is present in the encyclical letter and at the same time,what is lacking in man attitude to human life today.
I would no doubt recommend the bok to all persons,who may wish to contribute to the future of the homo sapiens,but I still feel that the author could enflesh the work still with information from more recent developments in the area of procreation.

[Fr. Peter Mottola]

Most notable for its good translation of Humanae Vitae, included as an appendix.