Coitus interruptus, or withdrawal of the penis before the male ejaculates, is an old form of contraception. Although some semen escapes from the Cowper’s glands before the male ejaculates, and thus pregnancy is always a theoretical possibility even with the most careful and devoted advocates of the method, coitus interruptus apparently was widely used in the ancient world and in the modern world. Failure of the method can also result from a delayed withdrawal, which might result from psychological as well as physiological factors. In fact, the failure rate is high, perhaps as much as 23 percent, but this still means that it is better than not using any means of birth control at all.
There are at least two biblical references to coitus interruptus. One is rather ambiguous because it could refer to a spontaneous emission (sometimes called a “wet dream”), premature ejaculation, or masturbation, as well as to coitus interruptus.
And if any man’s seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the evening. And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the evening (Leviticus 15:16-18).
To become ritually pure after such emissions, a short period of continence was normally required.
The most well-known passage on the subject comes from the Book of Genesis and deals with the levirate tradition of having a surviving son marry the widow of a deceased brother and if she was childless to get her with child.
And Er, Judah’s first born, was wicked in the sight of the Lord; And the Lord slew him.
And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up the seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his, and it came to pass when he went unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore He slew him also (Genesis 38:8-10).
Though this story has often been regarded as a prohibition against masturbation, the act described is coitus interruptus; the punishment, however, seems not so much for spilling the seed as for the refusal of Onan to obey the levirate requirement that he take his brother’s wife as his own.
Coitus interruptus was practiced by the Greeks, although references to it are scarce, and apparently by the Romans. In general these ancients looked more to the female to avoid impregnation than depending upon the male. Many contemporary peoples who still live in tribal or nomadic groups are known to use it. In spite of its condemnation as onanism, or masturbation, in the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic sources, it has been widely practiced. In fact it might well be that the Bible served as a source of contraceptive information for those who might not have thought of the method by themselves.
Other historical sources occasionally refer to coitus interruptus, and in certain countries in Europe beginning with France in the eighteenth century it was widely practiced, and in fact seems to have been a common method of birth control in Europe, America, and elsewhere until the development of modern contraceptives.
A form of coitus interruptus that some Catholic writers have advocated is amplexus reservatus, which does not involve penetration and therefore not consummation even though it might involve rubbing the genitals together. The easiest way to do this is in a crouching position with the woman’s back to the man. He can put his arms around her. It can also be done in the female superior position. It could be called interfemora intercourse, although the movement is supposed to cease before there is any seminal emission. Some Catholic writers have denounced it as simply withdrawal under another name, but others have accepted it as different and as acceptable to the church.
