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…

Definitions The Centers for Disease Control (CDCs) define the general class of “assisted reproductive technologies” 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…

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…

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…

Senator Brian Harradine: “How often has in‑vitro fertilization been undertaken on non‑human higher primates?” Professor William Short: “It has not been undertaken on gorillas because gorillas are an endangered species.” Senator Brian Harradine: “So you are able to do it on humans?” Professor William Short: “We are not an endangered species.”1   The history of…