Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) - The Catholic Bishops of Kenya say Intra Vitra Fertilization (IVF) is a “morally unacceptable procedure”. A recent press release signed by Bishop John Njue, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Kenya, illustrates the Catholic position with regard to this form of fertility treatment. “In recent days we were informed of the birth of the first Kenyan ‘Test Tube’ babies. Many people, among them childless couples, are troubled about the questions raised on the morality of these procedures. We therefore feel it necessary and expedient to respond and inform all Christians and people of good will regarding the ethical aspect”.
The statement continues: “We already spoke on the issue of Respect for Life in our statement of 29 April 2006. Whenever we touch on issues of life we must always depart from clear indisputable principles: that life is sacred at all times, in all conditions, from conception to natural death. That no one has a right to deprive another of life at any time. That life is God’s gift which he bestows when and how He wills. Life still remains a “mystery” even with great advances in technology and science”.
“The issue of ‘test tube’ babies arises from the difficult situations of many couples who are childless. Infertility - Bishop Njue continues - is a condition which rightly attracts a considerable degree of public sympathy. Undoubtedly it is a dream of all married couples to have children. It is therefore understandable that attention is inevitably drawn to the emotional distress which infertility can cause to childless couples. We are also aware of many advances in science and medicine which are availing more and more treatment methods for these couples. There are indeed many acceptable treatment methods and procedures that safeguard the principles of respect of life and dignity of the human person”. The Bishops laud the great strides made in gynecology but nevertheless caution about methods that are “morally unacceptable”.
“We know that childless parents undergo great pressure. We also note that such distress like any strong emotional pressure can lead those affected to engage in behaviour which, without this pressure, they might have seen clearly wrong. Artificial fertilisation raises a number of ethical questions. Considered from an ethical standpoint this procedure in fact in morally unethical” the statement says, because it is in conflict with the Lord’s moral order. The procedures involved in IVF undermine the dignity of a child, who is treated more as an object of manipulation, a thing to be possessed at all costs … More grave still is the fact that to achieve one ‘birth’ many other lives are lost. We have repeatedly affirmed that life begins at conception and that the new life is a person who has dignity and rights! This procedure also undermines the dignity of the mother and sets itself to fragment the family nucleus that is the proper and dignified cradle of life. It intrudes in the intimacy of married life”.
The Bishops recall the teaching of Pope John Paul II who explained what makes this procedure morally unacceptable: “
The Bishops continue: “We know that many couples have borne courageously their situation and directed it to motherhood and fatherhood in society that is greatly praiseworthy - the statement concludes -. We also know that despite this emotional pressure many infertile couples will not opt for treatment such as IVF, conscious of its moral unacceptability. We are very close to these couples and also urge them to have recourse to morally acceptable forms of assisted conception or perhaps to adoption. Love between husband and wife can be strengthened if they face and accept this setback united and with a Christian spirit and in this way choose to accept and transcend the pain of their childless condition. The choice to refuse IVF on moral grounds will be an expression of their wish to have children in a way which accords with respect for the child and for the dignity of human procreation, or else not have a children...God commanded us to be fruitful and multiply but he also commanded us not to kill, we cannot justify the former by violating the latter. We must obey all his commands”. (R.F.) (Agenzia Fides 23/5/2006 - righe 55 parole 759)
