Reproductive Technology

"I want to have children with you."

This simple, but meaningful phrase conveys in seven words the deep trust, love, and faith a Catholic married couple have in and for each other. But the desire for children is frequently thwarted by infertility. Life Giving Love, in an Age of Technology, in question-and-answer format, seeks to respond to current issues in reproductive technology-some that offer great hope, others that pose moral problems-and help Catholic couples fulfill their procreative potential and build a family.

Church Documents and Teachings

• Life Giving Love in an Age of Technology, USCCB, November 17, 2009
• Dignitas Personae and Related Information, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, December 12, 2008
• Donum Vitae: Instruction on Respect for Human LifeSacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, February 22, 1987 (en español)
• Humanae Vitae: On the Regulation of Birth, Pope Paul VI, July 25, 1968 (en español)

Articles and Publications

• Life Matters: Reproductive Technology, 2011 Respect Life Program (en español)
  Hope for Married Couples Who Want to Have a Child, by John Bruchalski, M.D., 2010 (en español)
• Addressing Infertility with Compassion and Clarity, by Rev. J. Daniel Mindling, OFM Cap., 2009 
  
• Assisted Reproductive Technology and the Family, by Helen Alvaré, 2007 (en español)
• Genetic Enhancement: Custom Kids and Chimeras by Marilyn Coors, Ph.D., 2005 (en español)
• Assisted Reproductive Technologies are Anti-Woman by Marie Anderson, M.D., FACOG and John Bruchalski, M.D., 2004 (en español)
• Begotten Not Made: A Catholic View of Reproductive Technology, by John Haas, Ph.D., S.T.L., 1998

Columns and Commentary

• Our "Yes" to Life by Mary E. McClusky, Life Issues Forum, February 20, 2009 (en español)
• First, Do No Harm, by Susan Wills, Life Issues Forum, March 9, 2007
• Should the Government Force You to Help Kill Human Embryos?, Life Insight, August/September 2000
• Science Without Conscience, Life Insight, February 1999
• A New Assault on the Smallest Humans?, by Richard Doerflinger, Life Issues Forum, August 5, 1988

Testimony and Letters

• Embryo Research and In Vitro Fertilization, Public Comment to NIH Human Embryo Research Panel, Richard Doerflinger, February 2, 1994
• Alternative Reproductive Technologies: Implications for Children and Families, Testimony to House Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families, Richard Doerflinger, May 21, 1987

News Releases and Statements

• Cardinal Rigali Criticizes Draft NIH Guidelines for Destructive Stem Cell Research
  April 21, 2009
• Bishops' Spokesman Asks Reconsideration of In Vitro Fertilization Decision, July 15, 1988

Additional Resources

Please see our Catalog for our printed resources on Bioethics.

Please visit our Embryo/Fetal Research Issue page for related information.

Fact Sheets

• Reproductive Technology (Evaluation & Treatment of Infertility) Guidelines
• Can fertility awareness (NFP) help some couples conceive?
• In Vitro Fertilization: The Human Cost