"The moral status of in vitro fertilization (IVF): Biology & method," (C.I. Jan/Feb. 2003, p. 24; viewed online at http://catholicinsight.com/online/church/ vatican/article_475.shtml).

I apologize in advance for the tone of my email, but I was extremely upset by your article. For "Dr." (and I use the term loosely) Shea to say that IVF is a "gravely evil act" is irresponsible and utterly offensive.

I feel sorry that my daughter will have to grow up in a world filled with such judgmental people/publications. I will pray that no one at Catholic Insight ever has to go through what my wife and I have experienced this past year--if that were the case, I am confident that Dr. Shea and your publication would see things in a different light.

USA

Editor's comment:

We thank you for your comments, but have to disagree with your judgments. We certainly do empathize with the struggles you and your wife have experienced, but this does not justify ignorance of Catholic teaching which has been available for decades. Dr. Shea is a medical doctor; i.e., a physician who knows all about gynecology and fertility. He also is a true presenter of Catholic doctrine on marital-moral matters.

The Church encourages alternatives to IVF, such as adoption and spiritual parenthood. We invite you to read and pray about a subsequent article by Dr. Shea, "Women's health care--A new era" (C.I., Jan. 2006, pp. 37-38; available online at http://catholicinsight.com/-online/church/humanae/article_637.sht ml). This article explains Naprotechnology, a medical application of the Creighton method of Natural Family Planning. Naprotechnology is safe for women, ethical for children, and two to three times more successful than IVF at helping infertile couples to have children--at a fraction of the cost.

IVF, on the other hand, usually involves sperm collected through masturbation, which is morally wrong whether the husband is the donor or not. always involves oocyte (ova) collection, which is morally wrong whether the wife is the donor or not; it is also dangerous to women. IVF always involves the conception of human embryo(s) in a petri dish rather than the mother's body. In contrast to these processes, the Church teaches that a child has the right to be born of marital acts of intercourse of the parents; and to be nurtured in the natural environment of the mother's womb.

The Church teaches that husbands and wives have a right to the conjugal act--but not a right or guarantee that a child will be born from the act. For the sake of our bodies and souls, and for the good of family life, we ought to realize the call to fatherhood and motherhood using means that authentically reflect the gift of human sexuality. IVF contradicts these requirements of the Church and misuses our gifts from God.

Second letter from a father through IVF

I thank you for your response and respect your opinion. My wife and I, however, vehemently disagree with the Church's view on the matter and have since decided to pursue a more open-minded Christian faith that recognizes God's ability to bring us a child of our own. Again, I thank you for your honest response and can only pray that in the future the Catholic Church will "look in the mirror" and tackle many of the "moral" issues (in addition to fertility) that it currently struggles with worldwide. In our opinion, our daughter is a gift from God, regardless of the method of conception.

Editor's final comment: In his encyclical Veritatis splendor, John Paul II wrote: "It is quite human for the sinner to acknowledge his weakness and to ask mercy for his failings; what is unacceptable is the attitude of one who makes his own weakness the criterion of the truth about the good, so that he can feel self-justified, without even the need to have recourse to God and his mercy."