Natural Family Planning effective

I am writing in support of the Rev. Mark Gurtner’s explanation of the Catholic Church’s position on artificial birth control (March 3).

My husband and I use Natural Family Planning, a reliable method that affirms the truth and justice of God’s plan for sexuality and is backed by science.

We use the Creighton Method, which tells us exactly when I am fertile or not. Each day we decide whether we can accept another child. Each day we determine whether intimacy is likely to result in pregnancy.

Using NFP, we can space pregnancies to preserve my health, give our existing children enough time and attention and safeguard our family’s financial situation. Since this is a decision that we make together, our communication is stronger, we have increased respect for each other and we are growing in mutual self-discipline.

NFP has taught us that sexuality is more than just sexual intercourse. Sexuality is realized in our emotional, physical and intellectual interaction each day.

I encourage women to realize that we do not have to sacrifice our dignity, our sexual desire or our fertility in order to control the size of our families. There is a responsible, natural option for women who want to space their children or who need to avoid pregnancy altogether. Natural Family Planning restores the health and mutual dignity of sexual relationships and is rightly taught by the Catholic Church to be good for women locally and globally.

JENNIFER NEWTON Fort Wayne

Time for caution on the roads

I’m coming out of my workplace parking lot where there is no stop sign for me as I exit on my motorcycle, but there are stop signs for the cross traffic. I slowly approach and zoom! Right through the stop sign, the driver didn’t even look, so I slam on the brakes and attempt to leave again, and zoom! Right through the stop sign again as I sat there and another driver waves at me.

Twice in the same day. What if I had not been looking or paying attention?

One of the reasons I try to be so careful is I’m reminded every day of what can happen to the families left behind.

I eat lunch every day with Dorothy, the mother of Rick Tesso, who was only 54 when a driver pulled out in front of him at McDonald’s on Washington Center Road last June.

Every time I get on my motorcycle I think of Rick Tesso, not because I knew him – I didn’t – but because I know Dorothy, who lives with this every day and reminds me to be careful and take that extra time to look, just like my wife does when I leave in the morning. Please watch for us out there. I think Dorothy would miss me at lunch, and I’m pretty sure my wife would too.

ROBIN MURRAY Fort Wayne

FSSA failures still unfolding

I am a retired FSSA caseworker who left the train wreck of privatization and witnessed firsthand the call center failures and their poor service. Marion County is now beginning to see the mess, including rebuilding every case as documents were not captured in the transition.

In 1979, as supervisor of the Abuse/Neglect Intake Unit in Allen County, we built an appropriately staffed Community Child Protection Team that became the vanguard protector for children. With an aggressive and progressive Juvenile Court Judge in Louis Bloom, the entire community supported child protection, even in the face of welfare resistance.

Now, multiple call centers have become unresponsive. Closing the call or case is the goal and there is little accountability for errors. State workers working 10 hours of weekly overtime can’t begin to repair the problems.

I hope IBM prevails in its lawsuit because the governor and FSSA’s Mitch Roob were the real culprits as consultant Carl Moldthan (deceased) so masterfully predicted. How are the pundits so incompetent? Where are the Blankenbakers, Sinks, O’Bannons and Maherns when we need them?

FRED GILBERT Fort Wayne