The following comes from the fourth part of a series written by Bishop Thomas Olmsted in his diocesan paper, the Catholic Sun. This fourth part appeared on July 16.
Tragically, when a technologically advanced civilization accepts sexual intercourse without babies, it will also ignore the moral concerns of producing babies without intercourse. In a historical irony which I believe is no coincidence, Louise Brown, the first “test tube” baby in human history, was born on July 25, 1978 in Oldham, England, the precise 10-year anniversary of the promulgation of Humanae Vitae.
Is the Church saying that Louise Brown, or the thousands of other children produced since then by such technological interventions, are somehow less than human, lacking in human dignity? Absolutely not. On the contrary, it is precisely their innate human dignity, born of the noble fact that they bear the very image of God, which causes the Church to calmly and strongly insist, as does the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2378): “A child is not something owed to one, but is a gift. The ‘supreme gift of marriage’ is a human person. A child may not be considered a piece of property, an idea to which an alleged ‘right to a child’ would lead. In this area, only the child possesses genuine rights: the right ‘to be the fruit of the specific act of the conjugal love of his parents,’ and ‘the right to be respected as a person from the moment of his conception.’”
The suffering caused by infertility is often intense for both husband and wife. “What will you give me,” Abraham asks of God (Gen 15:2), “for I continue childless?” and Rachel exclaims to her husband Jacob (Gen 30:1), “Give me children, or I shall die!” In her recent book The Infertility Companion for Catholics, Angelique Ruhi-Lopez writes of the temptations she and her husband faced, even as devout Catholics, when their infertility became apparent (p. 24): “I often felt like treatments like insemination or ART were like a carrot being dangled in front of us while we plodded along the seemingly endless road… ‘There’s always insemination, but I assume you would choose not to do that.’ My husband and I both said no because we knew the Church was against it (and so did my doctor), but the question that came to mind was ‘why not?’”
The “why not?” question is one we must all try to answer — clergy, religious, laity, medical professionals, husbands and wives — with an answer that is informed, faithful and wrapped in true compassion, and an answer which puts no human being’s life or dignity in jeopardy.
Medical developments faithful to God’s design
What can husbands and wives struggling with infertility do, then, that does not violate the dignity of their own relationship and that of the child they hope to have? Thanks be to God, more sound medical interventions are available all the time, due not to the profit-seeking bent of the majority of “infertility specialists” but to the faithful work of excellent scientists such as Dr. Thomas Hilgers of the Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha. Dr. Hilgers has painstakingly analyzed the root causes of infertility and developed treatments that are not only faithful to the teaching of the Church but, not coincidentally, more effective than ART in helping couples conceive.
We must be especially grateful to God also for the growing number of physicians and other medical professionals in our diocese who, like Paul VI and other heroes of the faith throughout the history, have the patience, perseverance and zeal to seek the truth, abide in the truth, and not simply follow the fashionable trends which fail to be authentic “progress” because they violate human life and dignity. In this way, they stay faithful to that foundational phrase in the Hippocratic Oath, “First, do no harm.” Locally, these physicians include OBGYNs Lori Carillo, William Chavira, Michael Czerkes and Clint Leonard as well as Dr. James Statt and Dr. Deidre Wilson. They also help bring about a renewal of the culture of life in health care, a courageous and sacrificial renewal desperately needed in our time. For an example, see this wonderful article from Lisa McDaniel, P.A.
And if all licit treatments fail?
For all of us, it is only through the acceptance of God’s Divine plan in our lives that we will find true freedom and joy. In a mysterious way this interior freedom and joy often arise from the uniting of our own sufferings with those of Our Blessed Lord.
Only in the Christian view of life can one find a tradition of fruitfulness mysteriously connected to human suffering. Couples who, despite great desire for children and seeking all licit means to overcome their infertility, still find themselves facing an empty crib and a feeling of incompleteness in their married lives, need not, indeed must not, give in to despair. God is the “Giver of good gifts” at all times; moreover, a child is not the only gift He is able to give married couples.
To read complete article, click here.
A philosopher-scientist has proposed that all children be sterilized at birth by the placing into their reproductive tubs a tiny valve that would require only a simple procedure to reverse and allow reproductivity, thus allowing humanity to escape the consequences of unprotected sexual relations and ensuring that every child was conceived by two parents who went to at least a small amount of trouble and expense to become parents intentionally. Another scientist has proposed that all babies be gestated in test tubes, thus avoiding the necessity of “enslaving” a woman’s body in service of the next generation, and presumably ensuring that each child is a wanted child, created in the lab intentionally. Shades of Brave New World, 1984, Soylent Green, etc. As soon as we are no longer perceived as useful to society, we could be “allowed” to choose between becoming compost for the farms or fodder for the animals. We may well be expected to become good sports in graciously forfeiting our lives, which scientists will soon enough come to believe they themselves, being superior beings, created, having manipulated human cells in the laboratory. Won’t they be surprised to discover, following their own eventual deaths, that they were quite wrong about almost everything they thought, that there is a God, and His creative design plans are vastly superior to any of their own, as is His scientific knowledge, since He was and remains the Creator of the universe. Scientists whose minds and hearts are open to the Word of God are tasked to challenge the madmen and women who are right now trying to recreate creation, before their experiments remove human beings so far from their original design that returning to sanity, natural forms of reproduction based on the laws of God and nature, as well as service to God, are excruciatingly difficult for future generations to return to. Passing on our great legacy as Catholics to the children God has sent us is the only way to prevent the world’s scientists from seducing humanity into utter social, moral, physical and mental chaos.
Invitro fertilization and artificial insemination are morally wrong and mortally sinful. Many years ago(about 20) my husband’s brother and wife did invitro 3 times and each time it failed. My husband’s brother was not Catholic but his wife was. I told her that the Church was against this and she said that she read somewhere that it was ok. I thought to myself, yeah, right. No matter what I said to her they were gonna do it anyway. I told her that what the man had to do(master……) to get the sperm was in itself mortally sinful and that for that reason alone makes artificial insemination a mortal sin and morally wrong. They joked about the day the husband had to go into a a bathroom to get the sample, if you know what I mean. They laughed that there were Playboy magazines by the toilet. Just think how many mortal sins were committed by this act; mortal sins of adultry, impurity, lust, …. Having seen this happen has made me despise artificial insemination and any other procedures like this. People do not think this through and realize just how sick this procedure is. It is sooo morally wrong on many levels and God help anyone who does this. I could go on about even more sins that they committed because of this procedure, but I don’t have all day or the energy to do it. This procedure is of the devil.
RR I’m glad you mentioned that it was morally wrong. A lot of Catholics are not told that and many go ahead with the procedure. I think that many people just want to be above God and many times they choose their methods and compromise their morals or whatever morals they have left, if any. I wish people would just trust in God and accept what the good Lord wills.
And how many fertilized ovums, unborn babies, are killed in these immoral practices?
Perhaps the GOOD ARCHBISOP would like to come to San Francisco
and clean house?????
We could sure use him!!!
ahem…he’s just a regular old bishop right now.
if he comes to a metropolitan see like san francisco (whoop-dee-doo), then he’ll get promoted to ARCHbishop and also get to wear a pallium.
And a prettier dress and hat, too!
I’m sorry that the Bishop didn’t include the possibility of adoption in his last paragraph. I know seveal couples who have adopted one or more children and I think it is a very Christian, grace earning thing to do.
Many people deplete their entire savings and even go into debt trying to have a child. My niece & her husband spent many thousands of dollars. They finally ended up adopting a child, but that has cost them a great deal too, as he came from another country. There are so many little babies in this country needing homes, but because of our court system, many parents are reluctant to adopt since the birth mother may decide to change her mind and take back the child. It seems like it would be a good idea for people to teach their children how to adapt to those times when God says no. Like this wise bishop, we all need to be gracious and accept that we can’t always have what we want when we want it. If we truly love God we must trust Him too. My heart goes out to those who can’t have children. It has to be a terrible blow.
I think it is interesting that the Bible has a tale of surrogate motherhood in the story of Jacob and his wives. Since Rachel was barren, she gave her maid Bilhah to Jacob so he could have children with her. What I never understood and still find strange is that Leah also gave her maid Zilpah to her husband so that he could have children with her. Leah already had several children and would have more so I thought that was a crazy thing to do. I remember as a young person I always that story of Jacob and his wives and children was intriguing. I think the Church is correct in its teachings of people using egg donors and sperm donors because in these cases the child often ends up with a stranger as their biological mom or dad. I don’t think it is as bad when the egg or sperm of the person’s spouse is used and in some cases this might be licit. In these cases the child’s mom and dad are his biological mom and dad.
Mark, please read or reread the CCC. Many times you give advice that is in conflict with the Catholic Church.
Please note that there are many human sinners in the Bible, including Judas Iscariot who was chosen as one of the 12 by Jesus which teaches us a lesson. We should learn from others.
Remember – Mt 16:19 – “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Catholics can not pick and choose what they want to believe. Jesus did not give this power to either of us or any individual Priest or Lay Person.
They’re not all like that, McCrea.
And speaking of surrogate, PA, what about surrogate humanhood? What about the reports that there already exist dozens of babies conceived using dna from more than one man and one woman? What about transhumanism? Why, just imagine, PA, the scientists could blend dna from the remains of saints, geniuses, homosexuals, and bonobos and raise them all under your care with full govt grants.
Mark from PA: A baby has to come from a male and female having sexual intercourse. Catholic teaching is that it is necessary for the sexual act to be procreative and unitive. You cannot separate the two. IVF lacks the unitive aspect of creation. IVF is a mortal sin because it denies the meaning of human sexuality. Sex has to be open to life, and life has to begin with sex. God Love You.
The bishop’s warnings are quite prophetic. There are plans afoot by legislators and scientists to re-structure the family and restructure the very being of children. Some British scientists are requesting permission to experiment with combining the DNA of 3 people to create one perfect child free of certain future potentially debilitating Mitochondrial diseases. The legislators want children to have 3 “natural” parents be they related or not. God is being removed from the equation and science is being introduced as the creator. All this going on right under our noses while certain people worry about whether or not Obama is a citizen or whether we can eat shark fin soup.
Mark from PA, it is never licit. the way the procedure is done is by creating a dozen or so embyos, choosing the strongest and implanting them. The other embryos are destroyed. Even if everything was accomplished so that no embryos were destroyed, the church teaches that this is not how God desires for conception to occur. The article mentions new forms of licit treatments for infertility and also in the case that those do not work, the holy practice of accepting God’s will. I was married 18 years before I had a kid. I came to the conclusion that God knew what he was doing by not giving us children, and I did a lot of charity work and felt like I was doing God’s will. I visited with a lot of elderly people who were widowed with no children and that is what I saw as my future and I was very content with that. When I did get pregnant it was a shock! One of the ladies who was widowed but had a son (and grandkids, great grandkids and one great grandchild) said to me, “Your problems in life don’t really begin until you have a child.”
A friend and his wife went through in vitro at least 3 times. We have no idea how many unborn children were lost, but one survived and a son was born This was done because a “specialist” told the wife that she was starting to go through menopause and the only way she could have children was through this (immoral) procedure. So after several tries they had success! Six months after he was born, she conceived naturally. God’s ways are always the best. But the in vitro industry is thriving everywhere people have enough money to afford it, and unscrupulous doctors can afford to set up “clinics” in posh high rises. Plush carpeting, fresh flowers and subdued lighting with candles are all part of the “set -up”. I’ve never heard one homily on this subject!
“Our main method of family growth has been adoption, but for our last three children, God has called us to be open to foster care. Our two most recent arrivals are still in the foster care system. We don’t know what God’s plan is for them just yet, but do know our calling as husband and wife. Our calling is to do God’s will and to love His children. In following this path we have experienced the grace of parenthood, multiplied by eight. When we first said “I do” in 1995, we never imagined we would be the parents of eight children, but now could not imagine our lives without them!”
in researching bishop olmstead’s articles further, i found his link to this couple who, unable to have children of their own, adopted a whole bunch.
so, even though the bishop himself did not include this specifically in his writing, he did link to it – thank GOD.
max, one of my mother’s mother’s father’s brother’s sons put forth ten children with his first wife, who then died, and he also put forth ten more children from his second wife … I have the photograph of the huge family posed next to their 1933 farm truck on their Oklahoma farm. They were not even Catholic, so just imagine how many additional children they would’ve had had they been of the Pope’s religion!!!
JLS, you could start a village!
Recently, scientists over here (or it could have been in England) birthed a child or children with the DNA of two women and one men by fooling around with in vitro and other fertility procedures. Most countreis outlaw this, but they did it anyway. It is just awful to mess up a child’s DNA like that. Besides that, can you imagine the legal problems that could come from such methods?
I know a couple who were considering such procedures as in vitro, but instead the wife prayed to St. Gerard for children and a safe delivery and St. Anne for children, and used only Church approved methods for her getting pregnant. They now have three beautiful girls, which the wife says came from the intercessory prayers of St. Anne because they are girls. As most know St. Anne was the grandmother of the Lord Jesus and the mother of the Virgin Mary according to Church tradition.
Of course, the wife gives credit to the prayers of St. Gerard for her safe delivery and to everyone else involved in making her pregancies sucessful and safe.
From a strictly ‘practical’ point of view, IVF only has about a 25% success rate, is very expensive, and doesn’t deal with the underlying fertility problem. NaProTechnology is a natural way to identify fertility problems, and has a success rate of up to 80%. So from a ‘practical’ point of view, why would couples go the IVF route? (Unless of course, there was a lot more money in advertising IVF….)
Test-tube babies are often twins, and twins are often premature, and premature babies are often born with birth defects. Hence, among babies with birth defects, test-tube babies are statistically overrepresented.