Why is sterilization immoral, and is a reversal procedure ever necessary?
Sterilization is a particular form of artificial birth control, characterized by the additional evil intent that the frustration of the marriage act is meant to be permanent. It is surgically accomplished in a man by a double vasectomy, preventing the sperm from having access to the prostate and the seminal fluids. It is done in a woman by tubal ligation, preventing the fertilization of the ovum by the sperm from taking place. It is a mortal sin, and is forbidden by the Churchs law precisely because it is against the natural law. The natural law is mans participation in the Eternal law of God, and through it every rational creature recognizes in his conscience his own goal and the right means to attain it. It is a secondary but clear precept of the natural law that “the primary end of matrimony is the procreation and the education of children,” as is defined by canon 1013, 1 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law. Sins that frustrate this end, inscribed by the natural law in every mans conscien
