3 ms·

Why is the Vatican opposed to IVF? Is it general, or situational?

by notadoc 7y ago

grotsnot 7y ago
FTA: "Many Catholics object to the fact that embryos are routinely discarded during the IVF process"
- notadoc 7y ago
  Fascinating
- tathougies 7y ago
  The Church also objects to the creation of the embryos even if none are discarded, and all are implanted and brought to term by the mother. You are citing an objection to abortion, but the Church is also against the creation of the embryos to begin with.
tathougies 7y ago
The Church is opposed to IVF in all circumstances. The answer to this is found in John Paul's theology of the body and other church documents. In sum, bearing children is thought of as primarily a natural result of sex between a man and a woman. They are not objects to be sought out as assets, but rather persons that come about via a relationship sanctioned by God. They are to be accepted as freely given gifts, not via cash transactions. The Church does not value having as many children as possible. In fact, the Church encourages all its adherents to remain celibate (as St Paul says this is preferable to marriage), but insofar as many Catholics are called to marriage, rather than celibacy, those couples are to accept children if God so desires it. And if God does not desire it, then they are to accept that state too. IVF reduces children and people to commodities to be bought and sold under what amounts to contract law. This is not the way that children should be treated (again, according to the church, the creation of a child is to be thought of as a gift from God, not a thing to be sought out). When done in the context of a married couple, IVF separates sex from procreation, which is a sin akin to masturbation. When done in the context of a single person, IVF separates sex from procreation, as well as intentionally deprives a child of their natural right to know and be raised by both their natural mother and father (this is also encapsulated in the UN declaration of universal human rights). The key word here is intentionally. Obviously, other forms of child rearing such as adoption or fostering also often involve a child being deprived of their right to know their biological mother or father, but these are not due to any sin of the adopting parents (hopefully... obviously, sometimes adoption is done maliciously). From a practical perspective, IVF also involves the intentional destruction of embryos, either via culling or selective implantation and destruction. However, this is the sin of abortion. Creating the embryos themselves was also a sin. The Church makes its teachings clear in a document published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Dignitas Personae [1]: > With regard to the treatment of infertility, new medical techniques must respect three fundamental goods: a) the right to life and to physical integrity of every human being from conception to natural death; b) the unity of marriage, which means reciprocal respect for the right within marriage to become a father or mother only together with the other spouse;[19] c) the specifically human values of sexuality which require “that the procreation of a human person be brought about as the fruit of the conjugal act specific to the love between spouses”. (part ii, para 12) It goes on to state the difference between IVF and other fertility aids (for example, Viagra or Clomid, which are acceptable under appropriate medical supervision): > In light of this principle, all techniques of heterologous artificial fertilization,[22] as well as those techniques of homologous artificial fertilization[23] which substitute for the conjugal act, are to be excluded. On the other hand, techniques which act as an aid to the conjugal act and its fertility are permitted. Note: I am uninterested in discussions on whether the church is right or wrong. The commenter asked for an explanation of why the Church believes as it does, which I have given. [1] http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20081208_dignitas-personae_en.html http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/docum...
philsnow 7y ago
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19870222_respect-for-human-life_en.html http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/docum... (1987) tl;dr several reasons: 1. the church considers the reproductive faculty to be exclusively for marriage in the marital act. The marital act must be "procreative and unitive" to be licit, and IVF (and a variety of other fertility processes) frustrate the unitive nature. 2. IVF as currently performed always ends up producing multiple embryos. 2a. The embryos are genetically tested and those that don't make "the cut" (whatever that might be, right now; the goalposts can move and can depend on the parents or various other things) are simply discarded/destroyed, and the church holds that this is infanticide/murder. 2b. The embryos that make the cut but are "extra" go into a freezer, but the church holds that these are human beings that should be accorded the dignity of any other person. They might be used at a later date, they might not. Even if there were a technique developed (which development the church would also consider illicit because the research would require consuming more embryos) that resulted in exactly zero "extra" embryos, point 1 above still stands.

Why is the Vatican opposed to IVF? Is it general, or situational?

grotsnot 7y ago

FTA: "Many Catholics object to the fact that embryos are routinely discarded during the IVF process"

notadoc 7y ago
Fascinating
tathougies 7y ago
The Church also objects to the creation of the embryos even if none are discarded, and all are implanted and brought to term by the mother. You are citing an objection to abortion, but the Church is also against the creation of the embryos to begin with.

tathougies 7y ago

The Church is opposed to IVF in all circumstances. The answer to this is found in John Paul's theology of the body and other church documents. In sum, bearing children is thought of as primarily a natural result of sex between a man and a woman. They are not objects to be sought out as assets, but rather persons that come about via a relationship sanctioned by God. They are to be accepted as freely given gifts, not via cash transactions. The Church does not value having as many children as possible. In fact, the Church encourages all its adherents to remain celibate (as St Paul says this is preferable to marriage), but insofar as many Catholics are called to marriage, rather than celibacy, those couples are to accept children if God so desires it. And if God does not desire it, then they are to accept that state too. IVF reduces children and people to commodities to be bought and sold under what amounts to contract law. This is not the way that children should be treated (again, according to the church, the creation of a child is to be thought of as a gift from God, not a thing to be sought out). When done in the context of a married couple, IVF separates sex from procreation, which is a sin akin to masturbation. When done in the context of a single person, IVF separates sex from procreation, as well as intentionally deprives a child of their natural right to know and be raised by both their natural mother and father (this is also encapsulated in the UN declaration of universal human rights). The key word here is intentionally. Obviously, other forms of child rearing such as adoption or fostering also often involve a child being deprived of their right to know their biological mother or father, but these are not due to any sin of the adopting parents (hopefully... obviously, sometimes adoption is done maliciously). From a practical perspective, IVF also involves the intentional destruction of embryos, either via culling or selective implantation and destruction. However, this is the sin of abortion. Creating the embryos themselves was also a sin. The Church makes its teachings clear in a document published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Dignitas Personae [1]: > With regard to the treatment of infertility, new medical techniques must respect three fundamental goods: a) the right to life and to physical integrity of every human being from conception to natural death; b) the unity of marriage, which means reciprocal respect for the right within marriage to become a father or mother only together with the other spouse;[19] c) the specifically human values of sexuality which require “that the procreation of a human person be brought about as the fruit of the conjugal act specific to the love between spouses”. (part ii, para 12) It goes on to state the difference between IVF and other fertility aids (for example, Viagra or Clomid, which are acceptable under appropriate medical supervision): > In light of this principle, all techniques of heterologous artificial fertilization,[22] as well as those techniques of homologous artificial fertilization[23] which substitute for the conjugal act, are to be excluded. On the other hand, techniques which act as an aid to the conjugal act and its fertility are permitted. Note: I am uninterested in discussions on whether the church is right or wrong. The commenter asked for an explanation of why the Church believes as it does, which I have given. [1] http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20081208_dignitas-personae_en.html http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/docum...

philsnow 7y ago

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19870222_respect-for-human-life_en.html http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/docum... (1987) tl;dr several reasons: 1. the church considers the reproductive faculty to be exclusively for marriage in the marital act. The marital act must be "procreative and unitive" to be licit, and IVF (and a variety of other fertility processes) frustrate the unitive nature. 2. IVF as currently performed always ends up producing multiple embryos. 2a. The embryos are genetically tested and those that don't make "the cut" (whatever that might be, right now; the goalposts can move and can depend on the parents or various other things) are simply discarded/destroyed, and the church holds that this is infanticide/murder. 2b. The embryos that make the cut but are "extra" go into a freezer, but the church holds that these are human beings that should be accorded the dignity of any other person. They might be used at a later date, they might not. Even if there were a technique developed (which development the church would also consider illicit because the research would require consuming more embryos) that resulted in exactly zero "extra" embryos, point 1 above still stands.