Susan Fraser
Catholics may have wondered what to think when the Minister of Health approved the implementation of the Guidelines for Embryo Donation for Reproductive Purposes on 8 August.
The guidelines, prepared by the National Ethics Committee on Assisted Human Reproduction (NECAHR), mean that surplus embryos created by couples who have undergone IVF treatment, can now be donated to assist other infertile people have a child.
Previously, surplus embryos could only be left in storage or discarded.
John Kleinsman from the Nathaniel Centre examines The Moral Case for Embryo Adoption (The Nathaniel Report, Issue 16).
He informs us that, to date there has been no explicit pronouncement from The Holy See on embryo adoption, but it is reasonable to conclude that the adoption of frozen ‘surplus’ embryos for implantation has not been ruled out.
He concludes ’embryo adoption raises complex and serious ethical issues. There is no specific teaching on this matter. Nevertheless, it is possible to argue that it is morally permissible. It gives the genetic parents an avenue for exercising their parental responsibility; an option that, unlike destroying the embryos (whether directly or through research) or allowing them to die, is consistent with the unconditional respect due to human life.’
I think the Nathaniel Centre puts it in a way we can all relate to in their 2004 Submission to NECHAR on Embryo donation: ‘Giving people the option to donate embryos left over from infertility treatment is in accord with the dignity that belongs to such embryos. It is a gesture that upholds their fundamental right to life, a life already begun.’
Welcome to our new Archbishop
WelCom February 2021 “I believe in the power and work of the Holy Spirit, and this is what the Holy Spirit is asking of me and the church of Wellington….
He maimai Aroha
WelCom February 2021 Kaumatua farewelled Archdiocesan Kaumatua Tuki Takiwa died peacefully on Friday 4 December 2020. He was in the presence of his wife of 61 years, Pauline, family and…
A New Way Forward – He Ara Whakamua, He Ara Hou
WelCom February 2021 The Lent Appeal on behalf of the New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops Conference enables Caritas to continue working to heal and support those overcome by poverty and injustice…