The Rest of the Story

Last updated on: October 5, 2010 at 9:21 am by Pia de Solenni

The Rest of the Story 2010-10-05T09:21:41-07:00 Pia de Solenni

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Yesterday, it was announced that Robert G. Edwards, the grandfather of IVF, will receive a Nobel Prize for his work. I’m glad to see that the Vatican and others stepped up with goodresponses.

Msgr. Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, head of the Pontifical Academy for Life (and one of my former professors), made the excellent point that Roberts’ work opened “the wrong door” for infertility treatments. IVF has been a difficult topic to address, not least of all because there’s been very little public conversation from the public face of the Catholic Church. It’s also difficult to discuss because we basically have to counter a very powerful argument, namely that smiling, beautiful baby that makes a husband and wife feel complete and satisfies grandparents.

In reality, IVF doesn’t really address infertility, it just circumvents certain forms of it. Compare that with Dr. Hilgers work on NaPro technology which effectively restores fertility in an overwhelming number of its female patients (90%?) and helps to improve a woman’s overall health. And it accomplishes this without the moral dilemmas of leftover embryos, egg harvesting, the commoditization of the child, savior siblings, women’s health, etc. And it often costs a whole lot less than IVF.

No matter how emotionally satisfying the successful results of IVF may be, there are serious questions about the dignity of the human person that need to enter the discussion.

IVF isn’t about getting a couple any baby; it’s about giving them the specific baby that they want. As a friend of mine who was considering adoption put it, “Whether I have that baby or someone else does, there’s no guarantee that the baby will be virtuous, intelligent, kind, or anything.”

There are some things we can’t control, even with IVF. We delude ourselves if we think that we can and if we think that’s a good thing. Let’s face it, most of us are not physically perfect or morally perfect. Many of us would be culled using the selection processes now available for IVF. In many ways, IVF is about loving only on certain terms, not unconditionally. Talk about a brave new world…

Uncategorized

Previous Post

October 4, 2010

...and then I woke up. It was just a dream.

Next Post

October 6, 2010 More on Vatican Communications

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Articles Thinking Out Loud Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2016 July 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 September 2013 August 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 August 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 July 2007 October 1008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Naaman was healed of leprosy by washing seven times in the Jordan River.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE