User:Pseudo-Richard/Catholic Church and human reproduction

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Eugenics[edit]


When eugenics became a popular concept in the early twentieth century, the Catholic Church stated its strong opposition.

Contraception[edit]

Main article: Christian views on contraception

The Catechism of the Catholic Church specifies that all sex acts must be both unitive and procreative.[1] In addition to condemning use of artificial birth control as intrinsically evil,[2] non-procreative sex acts such as mutual masturbation and anal sex are ruled out as ways to avoid pregnancy.[3]

Many Western Catholics have voiced significant disagreement with the Church's stance on contraception.[4] Theologians such as Charles Curran also criticized the stance of Humanae Vitae on artificial birth control.[5]

Many interpreted as a dissenting document the Winnipeg Statement, in which the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops recognized that many Catholics found it "either extremely difficult or even impossible to make their own all elements of this doctrine" (i.e. that of Humanae Vitae).[6] and reasserted the Catholic principle of primacy of conscience,[6] In view of these interpretations, the Canadian bishops later insisted on a proper understanding of their position, declaring that "a Catholic Christian is not free to form his conscience without consideration of the teaching of the magisterium, in the particular instance exercised by the Holy Father in an encyclical letter" and that "a personal opinion, or even the opinion of a number of theologians, ranks very much below the level of such teaching".[7]

The Catholic Church holds that conscience is not exempt from the possibility of error: "It is possible that the evil done as the result of invincible ignorance or a non-culpable error of judgment may not be imputable to the agent; but even in this case it does not cease to be an evil, a disorder in relation to the truth about the good. ... Thus, before feeling easily justified in the name of our conscience, we should reflect on the words of the Psalm: "Who can discern his errors? Clear me from hidden faults" (Ps 19:12). There are faults which we fail to see but which nevertheless remain faults, because we have refused to walk towards the light (cf. Jn 9:39-41)."[8]

Abortion[edit]

Main article: Catholic Church and abortion
A Knights of Columbus sign at a pro-life rally.

The Catholic Church opposes all forms of abortion procedures whose direct purpose is to destroy an embryo, blastocyst, zygote or fetus, since it holds that "human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life."[9] It admits certain acts which indirectly result in the death of the fetus, as when the direct purpose is removal of a cancerous womb. Canon 1398 of the Code of Canon Law imposes automatic excommunication on Latin Rite Catholics who procure a completed abortion,[10] if they fulfil the conditions for being subject to such a sanction.[11] Eastern Catholics are not subject to automatic excommunication, but they are to be excommunicated by decree if found guilty of the same action,[12] and they may be absolved of the sin only by the eparchial bishop.[13] In addition to saying that abortion is immoral, the Catholic Church also makes statements and takes actions in opposition to its classification as legal.

Many, or in some countries most, Catholics disagree with the official position promulgated by the Church; the views of these people range from allowing exceptions in a generally pro-life position, to complete acceptance of abortion.[14][15][16][17][18][19] There is a distinction between practicing Catholics and non-practicing Catholics on the issue; practicing Catholics are far more likely to bepro-life, while non-practicing Catholics are more likely to be pro-choice.[16][17][19][20]

Reproductive technology[edit]

In 1987, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a 40-page document titled "Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation." The document opposed all technological interventions into the process of human reproduction. More specifically, it condemned artificial insemination and embryo transfer, in vitro fertilization, and surrogate motherhood under all circumstances. It also opposed experimentation on embryos unless such experiments were intended to deliver direct therapeutic benefit to the fetus. It also opposed amniocentesis when performed in order to decide whether or not to abort the fetus.

In vitro fertilisation[edit]

The Catholic Church opposes all kinds of in vitro fertilisation because, as withcontraception, it separates the procreative purpose of the marriage act from its unitive purpose:

This particular doctrine, often expounded by the magisterium of the Church, is based on the inseparable connection, established by God, which man on his own initiative may not break, between the unitive significance and the procreative significance which are both inherent to the marriage act.

The reason is that the fundamental nature of the marriage act, while uniting husband and wife in the closest intimacy, also renders them capable of generating new life—and this as a result of laws written into the actual nature of man and of woman. And if each of these essential qualities, the unitive and the procreative, is preserved, the use of marriage fully retains its sense of true mutual love and its ordination to the supreme responsibility of parenthood to which man is called. We believe that our contemporaries are particularly capable of seeing that this teaching is in harmony with human reason.[21]

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church,

Techniques involving only the married couple (homologous artificial insemination and fertilization) are perhaps less reprehensible, yet remain morally unacceptable. They dissociate the sexual act from the procreative act. The act which brings the child into existence is no longer an act by which two persons give themselves to one another, but one that "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 is in itself contrary to the dignity and equality that must be common to parents and children."[22]

The Catholic Church maintains that it is not objectively evil to be infertile, and advocates adoption as an option for such couples who still wish to have children:

The Gospel shows that physical sterility is not an absolute evil. Spouses who still suffer from infertility after exhausting legitimate medical procedures should unite themselves with the Lord's Cross, the source of all spiritual fecundity. They can give expression to their generosity by adopting abandoned children or performing demanding services for others.[22]

Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer (GIFT)[23] is not technically in vitro fertilisation because with GIFT, fertilisation takes place inside the body, not on a Petri dish. The Catholic Church nevertheless is concerned with it because "Some theologians consider this to be a replacement of the marital act, and therefore immoral."[24]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church 2nd Edition Paragraph 2366". Vatican. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  2. ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church 2nd Edition Paragraph 2370". Vatican. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  3. ^ Christopher West (2000). Good News about Sex and Marriage: Answers to Your Honest Questions about Catholic Teaching. Servant Publications. pp. 88–91. ISBN 1569552142.
  4. ^ A summary and restatement of the debate is available in Roderick Hindery. "The Evolution of Freedom as Catholicity in Catholic Ethics." Anxiety, Guilt, and Freedom. Eds. Benjamin Hubbard and Brad Starr, UPA, 1990.
  5. ^ Charles E. Curran, (2006). Loyal Dissent: Memoir of a Catholic Theologian (Moral Traditions). Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. ISBN 1-58901-087-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  6. ^ a b "Canadian Bishops' Statement on the Encyclical "Humanae Vitae"". Archived from the original on 2006-08-29. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
  7. ^ Conference of Catholic Bishops Plenary Assembly, 18 April 1969, Statement on Family Life and Related Matters
  8. ^ Pope John Paul II, encyclical Veritatis splendor, 63
  9. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2270
  10. ^ Code of Canon Law, canon 1398
  11. ^ Code of Canon Law, canons 1321-1329
  12. ^ of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 1450 §2
  13. ^ of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 728 §2
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chron was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Quinn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference pew was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Gallup was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference IOS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference pew2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference PRRI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Pope Paul VI (1968-07-25). "Humanae Vitae: Encyclical of Pope Paul VI on the Regulation of Birth, sec 12". Vatican. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  22. ^ a b "Catechism of the Catholic Church". Vatican. 1993. Retrieved 2008-11-25. section 2377
  23. ^ [1]
  24. ^ Haas, John M., Ph.D., S.T.L. "Begotten Not Made: A Catholic View of Reproductive Technology". Retrieved 2008-11-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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