Q: Why is the Church opposed to fertility treatments? I personally think that there is nothing wrong with a couple considering getting fertility treatments in order to have a baby. Why is this considered mortally sinful? I think most frozen embryos are implanted, and most of the time they are not killed. Another interesting thing about this is that there have been many people conceived through fertility treatments. I don’t see them as mistakes. — Maria
Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC:
A: The Church is not opposed to all fertility treatments. It is opposed to unethical treatments.
In vitro fertilization, IVF, is gravely wrong on many fronts.
First, it requires men to produce seed through an immoral act.
And IVF treats children like products. Instead of being conceived through the loving embrace of a husband and wife, the little ones are produced in a lab by the flick of a technician’s wrist.
Each embryo is a human life, a human being — and IVF has led to hundreds of thousands of them (and maybe more, no one knows) being left in freezers across the country. Reports of abandoned embryos are rife.
And then there are the stories of eggs and sperm being mislabeled and mismatched. An online search will lead you to stories about doctors who used their own seed to produce dozens of children, unbeknown to their female patients.
Often overlooked is the psychological impact on children who find out that they were conceived by IVF (see this earlier Ask a Priest post).
You might want to reflect a bit on your question, by the way.
About embryos you mention that “most of the time they are not killed.”
One wonders whether that means you are OK with embryos being killed some of the time.
No one denies the beauty and goodness of a child. But that doesn’t mean a child can be conceived in any way possible.
It might be good to read more about the Catholic perspective on IVF. Some resources include the essay “Begotten Not Made” and postings by the National Catholic Bioethics Center on the “hornet’s nest” and parental desires.
Couples who seek ethical fertility treatment could turn to groups such as NaProTechnology.
You might find it helpful to view this interview Matt Fradd held with Stephanie Gray Connors. She presents her arguments compassionately and clearly.
Some of this is worth taking to prayer. It is, after all, a life-and-death issue.
