MY ESSAY ON THE HISTORY OF Catholic Natural Family Planning (NFP) scientists (chapter 8 in this volume) ended with discussing scientists who were active during the papacy of John Paul II (1979-2005). This present essay continues with the time period from approximately 2000 to 2018 and, indeed, into the future. My purpose here, however, is to delineate signs of growth and healing in health care and science related to NFP and not to focus on individual NFP scientists. Given that purpose, recent trends in NFP science and historical factors that influence NFP science can provide us with signs of growth regarding NFP and its application to medicine and health care. Here, I will cover five areas to demonstrate that hope. Before doing so, however, a word should first be said about a handful of hopeful trends that have also occurred in this time period. They are: US federal government funding of NFP research, a resurgence of NFP interest among Catholic health-care professionals, and efforts to publish NFP science.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/richard_fehring/190/
Published version. "Signs of Growth and Healing: Health Care and Science" in Humanae Vitae: 50 Years Later. Ed. Theresa Notare. Washington D.C., Catholic University of America Press, 2019: 364-381. Publisher link. © 2019 Catholic University of America Press. Used with permission.