Topic: Is artificial insemination and/or in vitro fertilization wrong?

Date originally posted: July 21, 2004

Source of this posting: Moderator response

Moderator who originally posted this source: Father Phillip

Question:  My question is what exactly does 'morally unacceptable' mean to a Catholic? Is it a sin? Is it less than a sin? What are the consequences of doing something morally unacceptable?I refer in particular to the Catechism in regards to artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization, which the Catechism says are morally unacceptable. So what does that mean for a married couple who use those methods to have a child.What does it mean for the child born of those procedures. Is the child to be punished in some way by the Church?

Answer:

Thank you, Dan, for your questions. Clearly you are thinking seriously and deeply about some important issues; bless you as you continue growing!

Let's begin with your last question first: NO! No child will be punished by the Church. Each child is a precious gift from God and must be cherished and nourished.

The Church's position on artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization comes from the Church's teaching about the sanctity of the act of intercourse in the context of a marriage of a woman and a man. Intercourse between a wife and a husband which is open to the possibility of conceiving a child is the optimal circumstance for expressing the holiness of God's Presence in the marriage and the love of the two partners. If God grants that a child be conceived through that act of married love, then the Church teaches that is the most morally acceptable way for a child to be brought into the world because it is the "way" God established for populating the earth and enriching the Church.

Now, having said all of that, we have to turn to your first question about what is "morally unacceptable" in the mind of the Church. I want to be clear that what I am about to say is MY OPINION and not necessarily the teaching of the Church, but I would like to add that I think what I am about to say is consonant with the general tenets of Catholicism. So...

The Church is usually pretty careful about its choice of words, especially in official documents like the Catechism. So, I would surmise that if they had meant "sin," they would have said "sin." Similarly, by choosing the phrase "morally unacceptable," I presume that the writers of the Catechism meant something "other" than sin per se. What, though, might they have meant?

My guess is that something is "morally unacceptable" when it has been "touched," as it were, by sin...something is "morally unacceptable" when it has been affected by sin. If that is true, then, something that is "morally unacceptable" is certainly NOT of the highest order of good; that is to say, something that is "morally unacceptable" is not the optimal way that God seemed to intend for "it" to happen. Because of our common solidarity in sinfulness, God's "way" is not fully available. And so we turn to a lesser way of achieving some "end." Often that end is laudable and good even, but we are not able to achieve that end in the way God willed for us to achieve it because of human sinfulness. Therefore, the means to the end is "morally unacceptable" even if the end is good.

Perhaps this might help some as you continue to pray and discern God's call and direction in your life.