What is the position of the Catholic Church on in vitro fertilization?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that the Church condemns all forms of in vitro fertilization, save the singular case where there might be leniency if fertilization occurs inside the mother, as it violates the family unit, “infringe[ing on] the child’s right to be born of a father and mother known to him and bound to each other by marriage.” Procreation is an act Catholics reserve for marriage; in vitro is indiscriminate in that it can create human beings not only outside of the marriage but therefore also outside the proper, natural and supernaturally ordained social structure of the family, the basic building block of society. As well, the in vitro process is not precise; unsuitable or unwanted embryos are terminated. Since Catholics believe that life begins at conception, when an eternal soul is created, this termination is the murder of a human being and a gross violation of human rights. In cases of infertile couples the Church supports and encourages adoption over ar
