How Full Is Your Quiver?

The "Quiverfull" movement is a rapidly expanding group of mostly Protestant families dedicated to the belief that God is the only legitimate family planner (so even natural family planning is prohibited).  Newsweek profiles the movement, suggesting that broader Catholic-Evangelical cooperation on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage has resulted in many conservative evangelicals second-guessing their previous embrace of contraception.  Folks at The Nation, not surprisingly, are not fans of the movement.  Here's a quote from one of the Quiverfull faithful:

[She] argues that feminism is a religion in its own right, one that is inherently incompatible with Christianity. "Christians have accepted feminists' 'moderate' demands for family planning and careers while rejecting the 'radical' side of feminism--meaning lesbianism and abortion," writes Pride. "What most do not see is that one demand leads to the other. Feminism is a totally self-consistent system aimed at rejecting God's role for women. Those who adopt any part of its lifestyle can't help picking up its philosophy." "Family planning," Pride argues, "is the mother of abortion. A generation had to be indoctrinated in the ideal of planning children around personal convenience before abortion could be popular."

It's clear that the Quiverfull mothers have picked up on the Church's teaching regarding the dangers of contraception; perhaps we could send them some encyclicals so they get the rest of the story?

Rob