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While in-vitro fertilization (IVF) seems to be a viable solution to infertility for many, the consequences of IVF are often hidden. The clearest consequence is that many more embryos than are “needed” are actually formed. The “extra” embryos are frozen in what is known as cryopreservation.1 These embryos can be conserved for long periods up to…
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The Centers for Disease Control (CDCs) define the general class of “assisted reproductive technologies” (ARTs) as those procedures where eggs or embryos are handled. This involves surgically removing eggs from a woman’s body, combining them with sperm in the laboratory, and then returning them to the woman (or another woman). The CDCs do not keep…
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“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” — George Orwell A few days ago, the Alabama Supreme Court surprised the country by doing something that is all too rare in today’s culture, i.e. it spoke the truth. In a blockbuster 8-1 decision, the Court ruled that human embryos preserved cryogenically…
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The Catholic Church teaches that in vitro fertilization is immoral because it not only commodifies a person but also eliminates the marital act from that person’s creation. In addition, it can lead to the deaths of tiny preborn children when unwanted embryos are discarded or used for testing. This is a bitter pill to swallow…
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On January 22, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, issued a pastoral letter called “The Christian Family, In Vitro Fertilization and Heroic Witness to True Love.” In his letter, Bishop Burbidge seeks to guide people of good will and the faithful to better understand the respect that is owed to the…
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Pope Francis has recently spoken about surrogacy, saying: In this regard, I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs. A child is always a gift and never the basis…
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Nowhere else on earth except on a skinny white plastic stick can two vertical lines create such immense joy. What’s represented by those two lines—the culmination of marital love and unity—is the fulfillment of long-held hopes and dreams. Indeed, they often evoke tears of happiness and maybe even a little victory dance. These two lines…
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Dr. Joseph Meaney, from the National Catholic Bioethics Center, discusses the many different types of questions asked on the NCBC’s hotline. From end-of-life care, to Church teaching on frozen embryos, to the morality of cremation, this episode is full of Catholics answers to common (and uncommon!) ethical questions. Chapters End-of-life care: 2:26 Vaccines…
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An article in The Atlantic a few days ago had quite the eye-catching headline: “The Anti-Abortion Activists Who Want to Stop People from Having Kids.” Now, as someone who has worked in the pro-life movement for decades, I can’t say that I’ve ever come across activists who are especially interested in preventing couples from having…
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The very probability that we may be faced with a human person in the full sense constitutes, in my opinion, an absolute veto against any type of [in-vitro] experimentation. ― Father Bernard Häring.1 Introduction Assisted reproductive technology is one of the most complex moral fields debated today. It is actually an aggregation of several…
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