Making Sense of Bioethics: Column #217 : Poking the Hornet’s Nest of IVF

IVF involves at least two major moral problems —the ‘collateral damage problem’ and the ‘intrinsic problem.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationMarch 29, 2024Artificial Insemination, Embryos, Frozen Embryos, Imposing Our Beliefs, Infertility, In Vitro Fertilization, Law and Ethics

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 168: Securing Authentic Children's Rights

Notwithstanding rapidly changing social mores, a truly civilized society will never prioritize the desires of adults ahead of the innate rights of vulnerable children.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationJune 30, 2019Artificial Insemination, In Vitro Fertilization, Surrogacy, Parenting, Same Sex Parenting

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 154: Cowboys, Infertility and Deeper Moral Questions

…we realize how the procreation of our own children is meant to involve a strict exclusivity between husband and wife.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationApril 30, 2018Artificial Insemination, Embryos, In Vitro Fertilization, Infertility, Parenting, Banking of Sperm and Eggs

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 145: Considering the Options for Infertile Couples

It can be helpful to keep in mind a particular “rule of thumb” for determining whether a procedure is morally acceptable: treatments that assist the marital act are permissible, while those that replace, or substitute for, the marital act raise serious moral objections.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationJuly 30, 2017Infertility, In Vitro Fertilization, Artificial Insemination, Intrauterine Insemination, Marriage, Natural Family Planning (NFP), Pregnancy Complications

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 140: How Does the Catholic Church Resolve New Bioethical Questions?

Many people appreciate that the Catholic Church holds firm and well-defined positions on moral questions, even if they may remain unsure about how or why the Church actually arrives at those positions, especially when it comes to unpacking new scientific developments like embryonic stem cell research.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationFebruary 28, 2017Artificial Insemination, Cloning, Embryos, Infertility, In Vitro Fertilization, Science and Religion, Stem Cell Research, Universal Morality, Conscience, Research

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 120: The Banking of Sperm and Eggs before Cancer Treatments

… if the egg harvesting step could be carried out with low risk to women, if the egg freezing process would not cause any deleterious effects on children who might later come into being, and if the eggs were only used for morally legitimate purposes like LTOT, freezing a woman’s eggs would appear to be morally allowable.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationJune 30, 2015Banking of Sperm and Eggs, Intrauterine Insemination, In Vitro Fertilization, Artificial Insemination, Infertility

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 110: Is Artificial Insemination Wrong Even Among Married Couples?

The pregnancy itself would be brought about by a new and different set of causes, whereby the mechanical actions of a technician would substitute for, and thus violate, the intimate and exclusive bond of the marital act.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationAugust 30, 2014Artificial Insemination, Intrauterine Insemination, Marriage

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 062: When the Kids Grow Up and Find Out About the Test Tubes

…subtle psychological burdens may be placed upon children born from donor sperm as they subjectively struggle with broken or absent relationships, and experience a sense of being a “commodity” or an “object” because of how they were created.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationAugust 30, 2010Artificial Insemination, Banking of Sperm and Eggs, Intrauterine Insemination, In Vitro Fertilization

“Making Sense of Bioethics” CMS