From the Friars: The Unity of the Spirit

There has been much in the news in recent months about In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Many Catholics do not know or understand why the Church teaches that this practice is immoral. The main document of the Magisterium about this issue is called Donum Vitae, which married couples especially should read.

It is a great cross when a husband and wife are not able to conceive a child. While this is a good and natural desire, the end does not justify the means. There are many moral problems with IVF. The main one is that the new life is not brought about by an act of love between the father and the mother, but by a procedure in a laboratory done by a doctor or technician.

This strikes to the core of our nature as creatures in the image and likeness of God, Who is One and Three. We are Trinitarian beings, persons not objects. As the Holy Spirit is the bond of love between the Father and the Son, so a child has the right to be the fruit of the marital embrace of their parents. They should not be products of an artificial process, of the “Reproductive Technology Industry.”

Also, in IVF several embryos are brought into existence. Only some are implanted, others are discarded, frozen, or used for experiments. Sometimes, to save money and increase the chances of success, several embryos are implanted. This can result in a multiple pregnancy which the couple does not desire, so “selective reduction” may be done. Here potassium chloride is injected into the hearts of the unwanted babies and they die within minutes.

A child conceived by IVF has no less value than any other human being, but their dignity has been violated. Technology may be used to help the marriage act achieve conception but not to replace it. Children are a gift of God and not something we have a right to produce by whatever means.

In the second reading today we have a powerful exhortation to strive ”to preserve the unity of the Spirit…” (Eph 4:3) May He help us to preserve the inseparable bond between the unitive and procreative meanings of the marriage act.

God bless you.

— Fr. Peter