Fertility question

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leschornmom

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I’m not sure if my question falls under this thread or another…

I know that catholics are “open to life”. I agree completely with this frame of mind. But I do have a question. What does the catholic church teach about things like invitro and other forms of artificial conception. I’ve heard different oppinions from different catholics but I want to know what the church says about it.

Does any one want to know?
 
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vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm

2376 Techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife, by the intrusion of a person other than the couple (donation of sperm or ovum, surrogate uterus), are gravely immoral. These techniques (heterologous artificial insemination and fertilization) infringe the child’s right to be born of a father and mother known to him and bound to each other by marriage. They betray the spouses’ "right to become a father and a mother only through each other."167 2377 Techniques involving only the married couple (homologous artificial insemination and fertilization) are perhaps less reprehensible, yet remain morally unacceptable. They dissociate the sexual act from the procreative act. The act which brings the child into existence is no longer an act by which two persons give themselves to one another, but one that "entrusts the life and identity of the embryo into the power of doctors and biologists and establishes the domination of technology over the origin and destiny of the human person. Such a relationship of domination is in itself contrary to the dignity and equality that must be common to parents and children."168 "Under the moral aspect procreation is deprived of its proper perfection when it is not willed as the fruit of the conjugal act, that is to say, of the specific act of the spouses’ union . . . . Only respect for the link between the meanings of the conjugal act and respect for the unity of the human being make possible procreation in conformity with the dignity of the person."169
 
There are two main problems with in vitro fertilization that go against church teaching:

1.) The creation of life is supposed to be an act of love between husband and wife and a blessing from God, not a science done in a lab.

2.) The biggest problem is that in in vitro fertilization, several eggs are fertilized, I think around fifteen or so. Thus there are now fifteen living humans slowly growing. The doctors will only implant a few of the “choice eggs”, so the ones that don’t get used are simply killed and thrown away. Of the few babies that are implanted, whichever one takes to the implantation the best is left and the others are killed and thrown away. Thus, for the purpose of bringing one new life into a family, many, many more are made and destroyed. The church teaches that ALL life is precious and so there is no way it can accept a process that lets one baby lives and throws out the others.

I hope that helps! :o
 
Please don’t think my next questions are meant to bait any one. I ask sincerely.

Is a child that is concieved in an “immoral” way any different in Gods view according to the church?

What about parents of that child? Are they held accountable by God?
What about just using fertility drugs to help a woman ovulate?
 
catholiceducation.org/articles/medical_ethics/me0064.html

…According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, infertility affects more than 6 million American women and their spouses, or about 10% of the reproductive-age population. About 5% of infertile couples use in-vitro fertilization.

As to how many Catholic couples are among them, figures are hard to come by. But many Catholics seem unaware of the immorality of the procedure.

“Anecdotally, from our consultation experience here, Catholics using reproductive technologies are generally unaware of the Church’s moral teaching in this area,” said Dr. Peter Cataldo, director of research with the Boston-based National Catholic Bioethics Center. “They’re not hearing it from the pulpit or elsewhere.”…

…But there are morally acceptable alternatives to in-vitro fertilization, and Dr. Thomas Hilgers is trying to let more Catholic couples know that

study of human reproduction, developing the Creighton Model System of Natural Family Planning and eventually opening the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction.

In 1991, Hilgers coined the term NaProTechnology (Natural Procreative Technology), a reproductive and gynecologic medical science that seeks to evaluate and treat a host of women’s health problems without the use of contraception, sterilization, abortion or artificial reproductive technologies, thereby making it consistent with Church teachings…

… Not only do natural and morally acceptable alternatives such as NaProTechnology cost far less, but they also are more successful. The Pope Paul VI Institute boasts success rates ranging from 38% to 80%, depending upon the condition being treated…
 
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leschornmom:
Please don’t think my next questions are meant to bait any one. I ask sincerely.

Is a child that is concieved in an “immoral” way any different in Gods view according to the church?

What about parents of that child? Are they held accountable by God?
What about just using fertility drugs to help a woman ovulate?
Click to expand...
No the child is not viewed any different in Gods eyes. (Anymore then a cloned child would be.) The parents are held accountable if they knew the churches teaching and went against it anyway. Fertility drugs are acceptable because it does not seperate conception from the natural procreative act (sexual intimacy) of a husband and wife.
 
Is a child that is concieved in an “immoral” way any different in Gods view according to the church?
Click to expand...
Not at all. The sin is the parents’. The child had no say in how it was formed.

And God loves all of us, whether we were formed naturally or not and whether we form our children naturally or not.

As for the parents, it would be a sin to use in vitro fertilization, but there are situations where the parents don’t know about the church’s teaching or that the process destroys so many lives. In order to sin, you have to be aware that you are going against God. But God is also willing to forgive sin if you truly are sorry. So if the parents were aware of their sin, they would need to go to confession. But, as I said, God loves even us sinners, so it’s not like God is just waiting to condemn us all to hell if we slip up.
 
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leschornmom:
I’m not sure if my question falls under this thread or another…

I know that catholics are “open to life”. I agree completely with this frame of mind. But I do have a question. What does the catholic church teach about things like invitro and other forms of artificial conception. I’ve heard different oppinions from different catholics but I want to know what the church says about it.

Does any one want to know?
Click to expand...
The Catholic Church rejects invitro fertilization because a child is supposed to be the result of the love between a man and wife.
 
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