IVF is a procedure that artificially fuses sperm and egg in a lab environment to conceive a child outside the natural sexual act. According to the Mayo Clinic, IVF is typically used as a “treatment for infertility” that “also can be used to prevent passing on genetic problems to a child.”
The Catholic Church has long opposed IVF as “morally unacceptable” because of the rejection of the natural procreative act of husband and wife, the commodification of the human child, and the destruction of embryonic human life, which is very common in the procedure.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that though “research aimed at reducing human sterility is to be encouraged,” practices such as IVF “disassociate the sexual act from the procreative act” and “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,” the Catechism explains, is “contrary to the dignity and equality that must be common to parents and children.”
John Grabowski, a professor of moral theology and ethics at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., told CNA that the issue is “interconnected” with abortion because “IVF typically results in the creation of ‘spare embryos,’ many of which are frozen, discarded, or destroyed through embryonic stem cell research.”
Speaking on “EWTN News In Depth” on Feb. 23, Bishop Steven Raica of Birmingham celebrated the Alabama ruling, calling it a crucial step in protecting the dignity of life from the moment of conception.
“Our prayers that we often say in church that life should be respected from the moment of conception till natural death comes into play here as we examine this question that the court had ruled on very much in concord with our hopes and prayers,” he said.
Peter Pinedo is a DC Correspondent for CNA. A graduate of Franciscan University, Peter previously worked for Texas Right to Life. He is a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve.