Short Answers: The ethics of In-Vitro-Fertilization.

Dear Apologist, Why would the Church oppose invitro-fertilization if it helps married couples have a baby? 

In-vitro-Fertilization (IVF) refers to a procedure whereby human embryos are created in a lab and implanted directly into a woman’s womb.  This process is commonly used to assist couples who are struggling to conceive a child naturally.  The Catholic Church nonetheless condemns the use of IVF as gravely evil.  [CCC 2371-2379].  Many argue that since God cooperates with the IVF process by bringing a new human soul into existence, this shows divine approval.  This argument does not work.  Children can also come into existence through a variety of evil acts – (we need not list them) – but no one would argue that those acts are morally licit on that basis.   Therefore, we must look deeper into what IVF does.

There are three main issues.  First, the Church recognizes that God has created a natural order by which children come into existence in the marital act between two spouses.  Children have the right to come into existence in this way.  Second, while a couple’s desire – even desperation - to have a child is understandable, no one has the RIGHT to a child.  They are gifts from God, but the IVF industry perpetuates the attitude that children are a commodity which can be manufactured.

Lastly, and most importantly, a couple who successfully uses IVF typically does not have only one new child.  The process typically creates multiple embryos, most of which are never implanted.  Those embryos, which are living human souls, are typically kept frozen.   While the Church would certainly not cast doubt on the dignity of a child who was born as a result of IVF, recognizing the equal humanity of the children kept on ice demands that the procedure be condemned.