american life league

Brochure Endnotes

1. National Library of Medicine, Medline Plus, “In Vitro Fertilization,” Accessed September 12, 2023, medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007279.htm.

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020 Assisted Reproductive Technology, US Dept of Health and Human Services, 2022, cdc.gov/art/reports/2020/pdf/Report-ART-Fertility-Clinic-National-Summary-H.pdf.

3. “In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) – Mayo Clinic,” September 1, 2023, mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/in-vitro-fertilization/about/pac-20384716.

4. Jay Bennett, “Genetic Engineering Now Allows Parents to Select the Gender and Eye Color of Their Children,” Popular Mechanics, February 15, 2018, popularmechanics.com/science/a19313/genetic-engineering-allow-parents-select-gender-eye-color-children/.

5. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, Online Version, 1993, vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM.

6. “National Summary Report,” SART, Accessed September 12, 2023, sartcorsonline.com/CSR/PublicSnapshotReport?ClinicPKID=0&reportingYear=2020.

7. “NaProTECHNOLOGY (Natural Procreative Technology) vs. IVF,” Modernfertilitycare.org, Accessed September 12, 2023, modernfertilitycare.org/napro-vs-ivf-research.

Infertility Resources

Saint Paul VI Institute

The Saint Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction helps couples conceive within God’s design. It offers ethical infertility treatments such as NaProTechnology and FertilityCare.

6901 Mercy Road, Omaha, NE 68106-2604

402-390-6600

Catholic Church Resources

Here are a few documents from the Catholic Church that provide excellent explanations of the dignity of the human person, marriage, and family:

Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life) by Pope Paul VI

Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) by Pope John Paul II

Familiaris Consortio (The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World) by Pope John Paul II

Additional Reading from Celebrate Life Magazine

“It’s Fundamental”

Does life begin “in the womb” or at the moment egg and sperm unite? We must understand the fundamentals of human uniqueness to recognize the immorality of artificial procreation and contraception.

“Just Because We Can, Does That Mean We Should?”

Adoptive parents have successfully carried embryos who were frozen nearly 30 years ago to term. While we celebrate the birth of these babies, their stories speak to the hidden horrors of IVF. Are the benefits of artificial procreation worth the great costs?

“Pro-Life Basics: Why Does American Life League Use the Phrase ‘From Creation to Death’ When the Catholic Church Uses ‘From Conception to Natural Death’?”

Terms like “conception” and “natural death” have been twisted and redefined. Using more precise language clarifies our commitment to protect every human being, including those created through IVF.

The Immorality of Sperm and Egg Donation

IVF reduces husbands and wives to mere sources for the cells needed to create new human beings. But removing the loving marital act from procreation isn’t the only problem. Many couples also use human gametes (egg and sperm cells) from a donor. Doing so brings a person from outside the marriage into the creation of their child.

The Church states the immorality of this process clearly (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2376): “Techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife, by the intrusion of a person other than the couple (donation of sperm or ovum, surrogate uterus), are gravely immoral. These techniques (heterologous artificial insemination and fertilization) infringe the child’s right to be born of a father and mother known to him and bound to each other by marriage. They betray the spouses’ ‘right to become a father and a mother only through each other.'”

In 1998, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops released an article entitled “Begotten Not Made: A Catholic View of Reproductive Technology” written by John Haas, then president of the National Catholic Bioethics Center.

In this article, Haas addressed the moral problems with using donor eggs or sperm, including the fact that it might confuse the child to learn that one parent isn’t biologically related. It may also rob the child of important information from their biological parent.

Additionally, it allows dishonest doctors and donors to further violate the procreative process. Fertility doctors have even been known to use their own sperm. So-called “serial sperm donors” can illegally father hundreds of children. Such stories are devastating to the parents and children involved. Some may still not know their true parentage.

Using donors has also created a market for eggs and sperm because not enough people want to donate “altruistically.” Instead, fertility businesses have to entice donors with payments. In a paper exploring the ethics of donating gametes, one author asks, “Is it possible to show respect for a person when we buy and sell major components of his or her personhood?”

Worse, sperm and egg donation also demand the buying and selling of something more precious: the rights and lives of any children created from these cells.

We must refrain from the immoral practice of using donated egg and sperm cells. Only then can we protect the sacred marital union and the rights of children to know their parents.

Is It Moral to Harvest Gametes?

The Church is clear about the ethics of using donors, but what if the cells come from the husband and wife?

The National Catholic Bioethics Center addressed this question in an article about the practice of freezing eggs and sperm before cancer treatments. Treating infertility and protecting these cells from chemo both involve good intentions. But harvesting cells prompts several moral concerns.

According to Catholic teaching, sexual expression is reserved for marital connection and procreation. This means that collecting sperm through masturbation or withdrawal is immoral.

But there is a generally accepted way for Catholic couples to harvest sperm. They can use a perforated condom that is free of spermicide, called a silastic sheath. Sperm can enter the vagina through the self-sealing holes, so it isn’t contraception. It also saves a sample for analysis.

But this option still prompts an important question: Is there a moral way to use the collected cells to procreate?

Donum Vitae is a magisterial teaching document that addresses questions about procreative technology. When discussing procreative technology, the USCCB referenced its teaching, saying: “Donum Vitae teaches that if a given medical intervention helps or assists the marriage act to achieve pregnancy, it may be considered moral; if the intervention replaces the marriage act in order to engender life, it is not moral.”

That means that options such as IVF and artificial insemination are not moral. Techniques such as NaProTechnology are.

Catholic doctors have also tried to develop other moral solutions to infertility.

Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) is one such option. A doctor uses fertility drugs to increase ovulation. He then surgically removes the eggs from the wife. Next, the husband provides a sperm sample through moral means, such as a silastic sheath. The doctor places an egg cell and a sperm cell in a catheter, separated by an air bubble. This prevents fertilization outside of the womb. He then injects both cells into the woman’s fallopian tube, where they can unite.

Intrauterine insemination is another solution. A doctor injects the husband’s licitly collected sperm into the wife’s uterus when she’s fertile. He may also use a “sperm wash” to prepare the sperm and choose the best cells.

Catholic theologians debate the morality of these options. The Church’s teaching authorities, however, have not said if these procedures are moral or immoral. Catholic couples can follow their conscience regarding their use.

Harvesting and using sperm morally can be tricky. Retrieving a woman’s eggs through surgery doesn’t raise the same moral questions. The fertility methods used for these eggs, however, do.

Unfortunately, the Church hasn’t identified a current, licit way to treat infertility effectively with a woman’s harvested eggs. Technology may one day offer a morally acceptable method that uses harvested eggs. Until then, Catholic couples don’t have a licit way to use these gametes.

In summary, there are ways to morally harvest a husband and wife’s gametes to treat infertility. But the treatment methods used must be moral as well.

Why Is the Church against Traditional Methods of Sperm Collection?

The Catholic Church teaches that “the deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose” and it is “an intrinsically and gravely disordered action” (CCC, 2352).  

This means that collecting sperm through masturbation or withdrawal is not moral. Using pornography to stimulate arousal is also immoral. 

These methods are dehumanizing and separate sex from loving marital intimacy. 

Instead, Catholics can use a silastic sheath, which is a non-lubricated, perforated condom, to collect sperm after sex. The self-sealing holes in the condom allow sperm to pass through during intercourse. It also retains enough for a sample. Married couples can protect the sanctity of the marriage act while also seeking medical support. 

Is It Moral to Involve a Medical Third Party in Procreation?

Donum Vitae says, “If the technical means facilitates the conjugal act or helps it to reach its natural objectives, it can be morally acceptable. If, on the other hand, the procedure were to replace the conjugal act, it is morally illicit.”

That means medical third parties can help a married couple achieve successful procreation. But they can’t bypass the roles or purpose of the marriage act.

NaProTechnology, for instance, treats the underlying causes of infertility. Though a couple’s ability to conceive may depend on the doctor’s help, the doctor doesn’t intrude into the marital act. Instead, he uses surgery, medications, and natural methods to improve fertility.

Techniques like IVF and artificial insemination, however, do replace the marriage act. A doctor or technician must artificially introduce sperm to an egg or the woman’s reproductive system. That replaces the husband’s role in the procreative process.

But that doesn’t mean the Church is against infertility treatments. In fact, she encourages medical help if it follows God’s will and design (CCC, 2375). As one Catholic writes, “The Church is not against medical advancements that would help infertile couples as long as they do not interfere with God’s vision of human sexuality and do not disrespect human life.”