IVF Is Still Unethical and Bizarre

Despite what Ms. Lamothe says, she is wrong.
IVF does destroy something: it destroys innocent human life.

Read both comments here.

The original post can be read here.

IVF: Unethical and Bizarre

IVF is unethical because it results in the deliberate destruction of innocent human life. But it is also bizarre. Here's an example of why: One Indian IVF clinic uses the cheery slogan "come as a couple; leave as a family" to attract clients interested in surrogate mothers. But as the now-notorious case of a Japanese baby illustrates, the dream of a family can easily turn into a nightmare.

A feature in Der Spiegel illustrates the complexities of surrogacy. Manjhi is a two-month-old baby now in a hospital ward in Jaipur. She has six mothers (who is her closest blood relation?):

Her first was the Japanese woman who commissioned her!?! with her husband, Dr Ikufumi Yamada. However, she divorced him a month before Manjhi’s birth. Her second is the anonymous Indian woman who provided an egg. Her third is the Indian woman who provided the womb. After Manjhi was born, no one knew whose child she was or what country she belonged in. Neither India nor Japan had clear rules on surrogacy. So Manjhi’s mother, on her birth certificate, is listed as "not recorded". She cannot get a passport.

But her fourth mother, her Japanese grandmother, Imiko Yamada, desperately wants to take her back to Japan. Mrs Yamada speaks no English and has been slowly negotiating her way through labyrinthine Indian bureaucracy. Under her care, unfortunately, Manjhi became ill and was hospitalized. There she has a fifth mother, a nurse, who cares for her. And a sixth mother breast-feeds her.

The case, famous now, grinds on in the Indian courts.
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Meanwhile . . . another dispatch from Lala Land: a quirk of IVF regulation in the state of South Australia has led to groups of lesbians being impregnated by the same man. The former chairman of the SA Council on Reproductive Technology, Andrew Dutney, says that he is aware of 30 lesbians in Adelaide who had children by the same “very generous” sperm donor ten years ago. The women used to organize picnics together for their families. In another case 29 women had children by the same donor. Since Adelaide is a city of less than a million, Dr. Dutney fears that there is a risk of unwitting incest amongst these children.

Aletheia Baptism

The single most important event of Aletheia's earthly life will occur this Sunday: we will request for her her baptism. We will ask God to grant her her freedom (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC 1250).

The basis for all the other sacraments - through which she will become a Christian - it is, as the Catechism puts it, "the foundation of communion among all Christians" (CCC 1271).

The Greek word baptisma originally means submerging. It symbolizes going deep down into one of the primordial elements of creation: water brings life (no water, no life!), it cleanses, and it can be deadly. In baptism all three meanings are brought together: deadly flood - baptism is a participation in the death and burial of Jesus (Rom. 6:3-4; CCC 1227); cleansing - baptism as the washing of regeneration (CCC 1215); life - baptism as a resurrection with Christ to new life (CCC 1214). The mysterious power and efficacy of baptism come from the Cross of Christ: Aletheia will be be baptized "into his death", so that he may implant in her his life (CCC 1225; 1227).

What takes place in baptism is indicated by the rites that precede and follow it: the request, the signing of the cross, the prayers of exorcism, the clothing with the white garment, and the giving of the candle (CCC 1242-43). Christ loved us first (1 Jn. 4:10), and bestows a gift upon us in baptism (a gift for which we must ask), by dying upon the cross and rising again. Aletheia's baptism presupposes, and the prayers of exorcism make manifest, that every human being is in need of baptism, even our newborn, precious child. Because of original sin (CCC 403), no one is "healthy" in himself: health, the health that is salvation is to be found only in Jesus (Acts 4:12). The acts of clothing Aletheia in a white garment and the giving of the candle symbolize that this newly baptized person has "put on Christ" and has now become light against the darknesses of Satan.

Please pray for Aletheia this weekend: a new Christian will be born!

The Morality of Prenatal Diagnosis

Prenatal diagnosis (also known as prenatal genetic testing) — procedures such as amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling (CVS), maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and ultrasonography — in and of itself, is not evil. But it can be evil if the intention of undergoing such testing is to procure an abortion if the unborn child is determined to be "defective."

Catholic teaching provides the best argument on this matter. As the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's document Donum Vitae (1987) explains:

"... [Prenatal diagnosis] permits, or makes it possible to anticipate earlier and more effectively, certain therapeutic, medical, or surgical procedures. Such diagnosis is permissible...if the methods employed safeguard the life and integrity of the embryo and the mother, without subjecting them to disproportionate risks. But this diagnosis is gravely opposed to the moral law when it is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion depending upon the results....

"In conclusion, any directive or program of the civil and health authorities or of scientific organizations which in any way were to favor a link between prenatal diagnosis and abortion, or which were to go as far as directly to induce expectant mothers to submit to prenatal diagnosis planned for the purpose of eliminating fetuses which are affected by malformations or which are carriers of hereditary illness, is to be condemned as a violation of the unborn child's right to life and as an abuse of the prior rights and duties of the spouses."

We have seen that, because of unscrupulous persons and a dubious if not morally corrupt justice system, lawsuits are filed against doctors for "wrongful birth" and even "wrongful life." As Thomas Murphy Goodwin, M.D., writing in the March 1996 issue of First Things, observed: "...There is a tremendous imbalance between the liability involved in not informing the mother of risks, compared to the liability of suggesting the alternative of abortion. All pregnant women, no matter what their personal convictions, are subject to the effects of this imbalance...."

Dr. Goodwin's assertion is an unfortunate reality within the medical community. Doctors who otherwise might be inclined to promote an alternative to abortion fear that women will effectively blame them if the child is born with a "defect," particularly if the pregnancy itself is deemed high-risk and there is an adverse prenatal diagnosis. The probable result, then, is a lawsuit. (Of course, true pro-lifers realize that each and every child is a gift from God, deserving to be welcomed in life and protected by law. Hence, they would not act in such a manner.)

Thankfully, there are pro-life resources for parents who receive an adverse prenatal diagnosis. One such resource is www.benotafraid.net. Benotafraid.net “is an online outreach to parents who have received a poor or difficult prenatal diagnosis. The family stories, articles, and links within this site are presented as a resource for those who may have been asked to choose between terminating a pregnancy or continuing on despite the diagnosis. The benotafraid.net families faced the same decision and chose not to terminate. By sharing our experiences, we hope to offer encouragement to those who may be afraid to continue on.”

Ultimately, prenatal diagnosis, like so many other technological advances, can be used for good or evil purposes. Sadly, in our present culture, it is largely a tool for the latter. But it needn't be. Perhaps one day, with enough prayer, love and sacrifice, such medical technology will be used only to glorify God.

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Reference: "The Facts of Life" by Brian Clowes, PhD.

Pre-Labor Torture

Okay, we've tried seemingly everything: walking, rocking, stretching, lunging, squatting, breast stimulation, evening primrose, intercourse, membrane sweeping, even pineapples . . . the boy just doesn't want to get out.

I tried another tactic this evening. (Habanero) spicy, bad, Mexican food. Any food with the title "El Diablo" as a prefix isn't going to be good:

I don't think it made Lizz feel very good:


I think it might have been hot:


At least hot enough to use sour cream as a lip-balm:


And a tortilla as a tongue-scraper:

Once again, proof of my love for my wife.

Holy Prophet Elijah

Pray for our delivery, it should be any time now.
And please join us in prayer as we consecrate our first-born child to Our Lady,
through the Holy Prophet Elijah.

Child Birth

Something for my 'rents to consider.