Many Catholics are surprised to learn what the Church teaches regarding in vitro fertilization (IVF). Many people think IVF is simply about helping infertile couples have a baby. So when they discover that the Church is unequivocally opposed to it, they may wonder why.

In vitro fertilization is the process through which egg and sperm are brought together in a laboratory or clinic to create embryos which may then be implanted into a woman’s uterus with the hope that the child will continue to develop and eventually be born. Its name comes from the Latin words in vitro, which literally mean “in glass” referring to where the conception takes place.

The moral issues connected with IVF are numerous. Therefore it may be best to tackle them a little at a time.

It is important to begin with an understanding of how the Church understands and analyzes the different parts of an issue like this. It starts by recognizing the good that may be present.

First and foremost, the Church recognizes that the desire for a child is normal and good. She also recognizes that many couples are well-intentioned, but may be unaware of all the moral implications of IVF. Nevertheless, the Church says that beyond having a good intention, one must also choose good actions.

For example, no one would say that a man who wants to provide for his family is therefore justified in making money through any means possible. It would not be OK for him to engage in immoral or illegal activity to meet his family’s needs.

The same principle applies here. Wanting to have a child is good, but that does not mean one is justified to engage in any activity that may bring that about (one may not kidnap someone else’s child, nor would a woman be justified in becoming pregnant by a man other than her husband if her husband happens to be sterile).

The Church also recognizes that beyond the desire for a child being good, so too, every child that is conceived has an inherent dignity and worth, regardless of how they were conceived. The child’s worth is not dependant upon how they came to be, since their dignity comes from their being made in God’s image and likeness.

The Church would hope that every child is conceived through a mutual gift of self between a husband and wife deeply in love with each other and ready to welcome gratefully the fruit of their union. But regardless of whether or not that is the case, the child’s dignity as a person, remains perfectly intact.

The fact that the Church is opposed to IVF as a means to bring a child into the world, in no way affects the child’s inherent worth since that does not come from how they came to be. The same would hold true for any child conceived in an immoral fashion (such as through rape or adultery).

And so if the Church recognizes the inherent dignity of the child conceived through IVF and also recognizes that the parents often have good intentions and are simply trying to fulfill a normal and good desire, why then would the Church be opposed to IVF? As we shall see, for very good reasons — reasons which many Catholics may never have had explained to them before.

There are at least three areas which are morally problematic with IVF. Any one of these is enough to render the technique morally wrong, but taken together it becomes abundantly obvious that there is no way the Church could ever condone it.

The three areas can be described in this way: a failure to respect life, a failure to respect the meaning of marriage, and a failure to respect the child.

Although IVF involves all three together, each of these areas will be treated individually in future articles.