A New Vision
For the last few years a new vision of woman has been unfolding - the evolving
dream of Dr. Dominic Pedulla, the founding physician of The Edith Stein Foundation
(ESF). Asked in 1994 to give a talk on heart disease for women, his preparatory
research unexpectedly led to a foundational insight about women's health. Inspired
by the deep psychological intuitions of the great feminist transcultural heroine
and Saint, Edith Stein, Dr. Pedulla for the first time began to suspect contraception
as the most important and overlooked factor in a host of medical and social
conditions afflicting the modern woman.
Contraception and The Heart
For several years Dr. Pedulla observed that many young
women often suffered from serious cardiac symptoms despite
otherwise reassuring test results. These women were
often profoundly distressed and suffered a great deal
of anxiety. It was not until he began routinely asking
about birth control practices that a causal connection
began to be considered. Dr. Pedulla knows now from his
own practice experience that all contraceptives - whether
condoms, IUD's, pills, injections, or tubal ligation
surgeries - are capable of causing this 'contraception
syndrome.' Research now must be done to prove
its existence, define its causal mechanisms, and determine
how it is best healed.
The Difficult and Symptomatic Menopause
Similarly, women who suffered troubling hot flashes
and postmenopausal mood problems most often were chronic
contraceptors or were sterilized. They more often needed
powerful synthetic hormones, even when not actually
hormone deficient. Were contraception and sterilization
deeply traumatic to a woman's self? This is the hypothetical
problem Dr. Pedulla presented to 'The First World
Congress on Women's Mental Health' in Berlin, Germany March of 2001
.
Depression and Menstrual Mood Disorders
It began to appear that while many women began contraceptives
to avoid pregnancy, a substantial number ended up habitually
needing them for control of moods and emotions. When
women otherwise behaving rationally cannot stop their
contraceptives even when heart symptoms result, would
research point to a chronic contraceptive dependency?
The Hysterectomy Epidemic
Learning that up to 75% of hysterectomies in the U.S.
and Europe are unjustified, and in view of the increased
heart attack rate in these women, and since research
already shows that contraceptives and tubal sterilizations
make women hysterectomy-prone, a new question emerged.
Could this phenomenon be the end-stage of a chronic
and self-destructive 'contraceptive syndrome';
would contraceptive acts of intercourse prove to be
a new form of repetitive self-trauma?
Autoimune Diseases
The increasing incidence of diseases like lupus and
rheumatoid arthritis and their striking preference for
afflicting females is noteworthy. Since early research
in psychoneuroimmunology has shown the emotions capable
of altering the immune system (particularly in the area
of marital relationship), could chronic self-destructive
or otherwise negative emotions (such as self-loathing,
shame, hostility) condition the immune system in such
a way that self attacks self? Would this explain how
'the pill' can cause self-destructive antibodies?
Breast and Reproductive Cancers
Seeing the link between breast cancer and a number
of otherwise very different contraceptive modalities
(even the condom!) Couldn't this reflect as well
a chronic contraceptive effect on the immune system,
even apart from purely hormonal mechanisms?
Failure to Adapt to Pregnancy / Pregnancy Unacceptedness
Pregnancy, for females, is a normal physiologic goal
of freely-chosen intercourse. Yet strange expressions
such as 'unintended pregnancy' have been used,
distracting many from the abnormal failure to accept
the pregnant condition. The ESF now feels strongly that
chronic contraception conditions women in such a
way that their response to pregnancy is impaired and
pregnancy rejected - clearly a hypothesis deserving
real study!
Divorce and Marital Unhappiness
If contraception involved a kind of covert hostility
towards a woman, would that explain studies demonstrating
higher divorce rates for women on the pill, as other
studies suggest?
The Unifying Principle
Billions of dollars yearly are donated to separately
battle coronary artery disease, breast cancer, lupus,
depression, the menopause, 'unwanted pregnancy',
infertility, suicides, and accidents in women, but how
well are these funds spent? A very simple but 'radical'
principle may lie at the root of all of these apparently
unrelated ills: contraceptive acts are psychologically,
spiritually, and physically traumatizing to women. Would
modern, scientifically accurate, noncontraceptive methods
of pregnancy avoidance be therapeutic?
What The Edith Stein Foundation Needs Now!
Work with us in this enormously exciting area of research!
At a very minimum, it has the real capacity to rewrite
the modern story of women's health. Join us in this
mission today by giving generously, so together, we
may bring about the long awaited hope of prosperous
health for modern woman.
Mission Statement
The Edith Stein Foundation sees the family planning decision as a threshold 'moment of freedom' for the world's modern woman. Therefore the mission of The Foundation is to help woman cross that threshold by choosing methods that celebrate her fertility and make her fully conscious of its beauty and power. In the process we will promote genuine reproductive health, and expose the often hidden joy, vitality, freedom and power of life-giving
love. The Edith Stein Foundation believes this change in the heart and mind of our culture will bring peace to future generations who, through us, dare to hope.
MORE FREE INFORMATION
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