Earlier in the year, I blogged my thoughts on the Vatican’s lack of position on Embryo Adoption. I have much of the same to say in today’s post, so rather than repeat myself, I’ll just ask you to read the post.
I’ll start by clarifying that though I am Protestant, I am not Anti-Catholic. I believe that Catholics are Christians and furthermore, I believe they have set a worthy example in their defense of human life and I wish my own church tradition had a boldness and a track record as admirable as theirs. It is partially because I have so much respect for the Catholic church that I find their position so severely disheartening.
They did take an official position in June and have just released it it in a new Dignitas Personae in which, among other things, they assert their positions on various family building options, now including Embryo Adoption.
On page 11 of the document, it states:
With regard to the large number of frozen embryos already in existence the question becomes: what to do with them? Some of those who pose this question do not grasp its ethical nature, motivated as they are by laws in some countries that require cryopreservation centers to empty their storage tanks periodically. Others, however, are aware that a grave injustice has been perpetrated and wonder how best to respond to the duty of resolving it.
Proposals to use these embryos for research or for the treatment of disease are obviously unacceptable because they treat the embryos as mere “biological material” and result in their destruction. The proposal to thaw such embryos without reactivating them and use them for research, as if they were normal cadavers, is also unacceptable.
The proposal that these embryos could be put at the disposal of infertile couples as a treatment for infertility is not ethically acceptable for the same reasons which make artificial heterologous procreation illicit as well as any form of surrogate motherhood; this practice would also lead to other problems of a medical, psychological and legal nature.
It has also been proposed, solely in order to allow human beings to be born who are otherwise condemned to destruction, that there could be a form of “prenatal adoption”. This proposal, praiseworthy with regard to the intention of respecting and defending human life, presents however various problems not dissimilar to those mentioned above.
All things considered, it needs to be recognized that the thousands of abandoned embryos represent a situation of injustice which in fact cannot be resolved. Therefore John Paul II made an “appeal to the conscience of the world’s scientific authorities and in particular to doctors, that the production of human embryos be halted, taking into account that there seems to be no morally licit solution regarding the human destiny of the thousands and thousands of ‘frozen’ embryos which are and remain the subjects of essential rights and should therefore be protected by law as human persons.”
To say that I’m disappointed in this position is an understatement. To call it non-committal and double-minded is generous.
The first obvious issue is how tardy the church has been in taking a position at all. Embryo Adoption began in 1997. The fact that it took 11 years to make a decision points to how complicated and nuanced the issue is at all. So the fact that they dismiss it so effortlessly is concerning.
The Vatican’s position on Human life is:
The human being must be respected – as a person – from the very first instant of his existence…Thus the fruit of human generation, from the first moment of its existence, that is to say from the moment the zygote has formed, demands the unconditional respect that is morally due to the human being in his bodily and spiritual totality. The human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception; and therefore from that same moment his rights as a person must be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviolable right of every innocent human being to life. …Since the embryo must be treated as a person, it must also be defended in its integrity, tended and cared for, to the extent possible, in the same way as any other human being as far as medical assistance is concerned. (source)
Because they (rightly) place such a high value on each human life, their position on Embryo Adoption is hypocritical and dangerous.
The church even acknowledges that the purpose of Embryo Adoption is for “respecting and defending human life,” which is consistent with church’s purpose, and yet they denounce it still. I realize that we cannot judge actions based solely or even largely on intention. However in this particular instance, I think the intention and purpose matters a great deal when making a final judgment. The purpose in Embryo Adoption is to grow a family and to give these precious children a chance for birth and life. It is not to violate the marriage bed, to procreate with someone other than your spouse or to play God. Embryo Adoption is no more guilty of these things than is traditional adoption, which the church supports.
Furthermore, for the church to declare these embryos as children worthy of protection and treatment as human beings, and yet to provide no permissible manner to actually treat them that way is weak and insincere. The alternative is to leave the babies frozen indefinitely, which neither respects their dignity nor offers them the best defense of life. Saying that we should halt freezing future embryos (a position with which I agree) does nothing to protect the frozen embryos who already exist and therefore as a position is insufficient and I daresay, irrelevant.
This position is dangerous because countless Catholics are qualified and willing to provide these precious children with loving Christian homes and now they are forbid from doing so lest they disobey the church to whose leadership they have chosen to submit themselves. There are 400,000 + human embryos in frozen storage. Less than a thousand families have thus far completed Embryo Adoption. The pool of eligible parents (life-savers!) has now been drastically reduced because of poor logic and the embryos are now in more peril, not less.
I have seen the position summarized as still being “non committal” which I don’t quite understand because the document specifically states: there seems to be no morally licit solution regarding the human destiny of the thousands and thousands of ‘frozen’ embryos. Because Embryo Adoption is one of those “solutions,” it is automatically illicit by this proclamation.
Additionally, they seem to make a distinction between Embryo Adoption and “embryos… put at the disposal of infertile couples as a treatment for infertility.” I’m not sure what they mean by this distinction because the only way I’m aware of that one couple does anything with another couple’s frozen embryos is Embryo Donation/Adoption. Unless the only distinction is intent–the desire to treat fertility versus the desire to save a life. But either way, the only functional manifestation (that I’m aware of) IS Embryo Donation/Adoption, and their conclusion is that it is “not ethically acceptable.”
However, even if I have misunderstood the document and their intent is to remain non-committal on Embryo Adoption and/or if there is some kind of distinction between “Embryo Adoption” and “Embryos at the disposal of infertile couples as treatment for infertility” wherein they condemn the latter but remain undecided on the former, they ought to 1) remove the language that states that there are NO morally licit solutions because that automatically condemns EA even if they do not mean it to and 2) clarify the distinction between those two things and 3) be diligent and actually officially assume the only life affirming position of supporting EA. I realize they don’t want to be seen as endorsing IVF or surrogacy, but a simple way to do that would be to disclaim it with “While we do not endorse these things, we support saving the lives that already exist through Embryo Adoption.” Just as I’m sure the church does not endorse rape, abuse, neglect, abandon, parental death and other situations that place already born children in need of adoption and yet they wholeheartedly endorse adoption itself, I think the same can be done in the case of Embryo Adoption: disagreeing with the situation that created the need in the first place but endorsing the best possible solution. (Note I do not equate IVF to rape, abuse, neglect, etc….I only compare them insofar as they are all things that the Catholic Church rejects and which still produce children).
It is my prayer that the Church would come to the conclusion that despite valid and legitimate objections to their origin, these children do exist and therefore are endowed with a right to life and deserving of our advocacy, protection and service. I believe the best and most life and God honoring way to achieve that is through Embryo Adoption.
I also read this news today and as a Catholic Jen I stand with you on this one. It doesn’t seem totally thought through does it? To leave the already created embryos in permanent stasis does nothing to honour or respect them. I am so glad there are people like you, and your husband, who choose to parent these unborn lives. xxx
I agree with you and the the previous poster here. I fail to see how leaving the embryos cryogenically frozen honors them more than giving them the chance to live with a loving, adoptive family? I do appreciate how they’ve taken a bold stance on the sanctity of life though, as opposed to so many in the Christian community who, disappointingly, approve of ending a baby’s life due to less than ideal conception circumstances (i.e. rape, incest). It’s never acceptable to end an innocent life. Period.
I think that the road you & DH have travelled is admirable and honors God. I am very proud of you!
Jen, I am very thankful you provided your thoughts on this document. My husband and I have known for a while that this document was coming out and have been eagerly awaiting what we assumed would be a more permissive stance on embryo adoption.
Being Catholic, we are now entering into dialogue with family and trusted priests trying to discern just what is meant in this confusing pronouncement. Especially as we are now entering into our matching face with Nightlight’s Snowflake program.
My husband, my father-in-law (a deacon), and I are all of the persuasion that “treatment for infertile couples” does not refer to us as “treatment” refers to something medical. Perhaps the Church was attempting to distinguish between embryo donation and embryo adoption? It seems clear to me that the former lacks dignity and respect for the embryo while the latter is founded upon the very principle that the embryo deserves a fighting chance at life.
On another note, I get very tired of Pope John Paul II’s quote being used to refer to EA. JPII’s quote pre-dates EA (quote’s from 1996). So, yes, definitely no licit means AT THE TIME were available. We’ve come a long way since then…
Similarly, I get very tired of individuals quoting Donum Vitae (the most recent papal encyclical on life issues – 1987) as proof that EA is sinful when this document also pre-dates EA. “No woman can become pregnant except through her spouse.” We are now of a day and age where conception and pregnancy/gestation can exist separately from one another – a shame, no doubt, but a medical fact which must be acknowledged and dealt with accordingly. Perhaps better wording would be “no woman should conceive except through her spouse”?
As always, I thankful for your clear thinking and eloquent writing skills. Many prayers.
I agree with the Church on this one. It is saying that while the intention behind snowflake adoption is praiseworthy, there is no morally licit way to go about bringing them to term, as surrogate motherhood and artificial heterologous procreation are always wrong. So, it’s not wanting to bring the children to birth that is wrong, in fact it is a praiseworthy thing, it is that this cannot be done in a morally licit fashion.
As to the medical, moral, psychological problems that can come from snowflake adoption/ surrogate motherhood: I can think of two major medical reasons that would complicate this: (1) a baby made in a petri dish would be greater danger of genetic anomalies as any sperm can fertilize the ovum. In sexual intercourse, only the strongest and best sperm can make the journey all the way there. God designed it that way for a purpose. (2) All the drugs necessary to induce a pregnancy in a woman for the purpose of implantation of the baby etc. are not healthy for her and in some cases can be life threatening, not to mention the psychological repercussions that some couple go though who lose baby after baby through this means. I just read of a couple who lost 13 babies this way, only two making it to pregnancy stage and one dying right after birth. ( I know this can happen in nature, but this process is completely unnatural.)
These babies are in God’s hands, for now, that is where we must leave them.
My husband who is a Biology Professor says that most specimens (sorry to use that word for babies) in crypreservation do not last as long as people fear. Plant specimens for instance, have to be thawed, grown up and refrozen every few years or per decade in order to last. Animal/human specimens are much more delicate than that. So, although it is horrendous to have these little innocents forced to take on this role in the world, they will not be in this frozen limbo forever.
Maybe, we should start a movement to baptize all IVF embryos. I guess we could do that spiritually. Spiritual adoption.
Prayer For Aborted Infants (I would add: Babies in Cryopreservation)
Dear little infant Jesus, in honor of thy Holy Birth, and through thy Holy Mother, I pray that the innocents who will this day be murdered (or are in cryopreservation) may find refuge and eternal glory before the throne of our Heavenly Father.
Spiritual Baptism of the Unborn:
I believe in God, the Father the Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into Heaven. He is seated at the right hand of the Father. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. That all who were born dead this day may reach everlasting life through Jesus Christ, Mary, Joseph, John and (Saint of the day). I baptize you if God so wills (Sprinkle Holy Water to the north, south, east and west of your home or church) “In the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Ghost.”
Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.
Glory Be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, Amen.