THE DIGNITY OF HUMAN PROCREATION AND REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES: ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND ETHICAL ASPECTS
PROCEEDINGS OF THETENTH ASSEMBLY
OF THEPONTIFICAL ACADEMY FOR LIFE
Vatican City, 20-22 February 2004
Edited by :
JUAN DE DIOS VIAL CORREA
ELIO SGRECCIA
LIBRERIA EDITRICE VATICANA
2005
Presentation(Prof. JUAN DE DIOS VIAL CORREA e H.E.R. Msgr. ELIO SGRECCIA)
Discourse of the Holy FatherJOHN PAUL II
Final Communiqué
CONTRIBUTION OF THE TASK-FORCE
H.E. Card. JAVIER LOZANO BARRAGÁN,Some biblical signs on human procreation
Dr. HELEN WATT,Parenthood and new reproductive technologies: anthropological considerations
Prof. ADRIANO BOMPIANI,a href="/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=452&catid=55&Itemid=66&lang=en">The historical development of technologies and their impact on the processes of human procreation
Msgr. Prof. LIVIO MELINA,The intrinsic logic of interventions in the field of human artificial procreation. Ethical aspects
Rev. Prof. ANGELO SERRA,The eugenic prospects of technically assisted reproduction. The preimplantation genetic diagnosis
Dr. MÓNICA LÓPEZ BARAHONA,Human embryo in the applications of artificial reproductive techniques
Prof. GONZALO HERRANZ,The practice of artificial reproduction technologies: its effects on the goals and duties of medicine
Prof. PETER PETERSEN,The psychological and spiritual repercussion of artificial procreation for women/families vs. anthropological, spiritual attitudes. A challenge to psychosomatic and pneumatological anthropology
Prof. ALICIJA GRZESKOWIAK,The juridical aspects of the making of laws in pluralistic society for the right to life
Msgr. Prof. ÁNGEL RODRÍGUEZ LUÑO,The dilemma of Catholic legislators faced with proposals seeking to ameliorate unjust laws promoting artificial procreation
STATEMENTS IN THE ROUND TABLE
"Prospects and alternatives to artificial procreation: Medical and surgical therapies, techniques helping procreation, prevention and adoption"
Prof. MARIA LUISA DI PIETRO, Prof. ANTONIO GIOACCHINO SPAGNOLO,Ethics consultation with a sterile couple
Prof. RICCARDO MARANA,Surgical treatment of female infertility
Prof. ALDO ISIDORI,Prevention of male infertility
Prof. SALVATORE MANCUSO, Prof. ANTONIO LANZONE,Female infertility and sterility prevention
Prof. JOSÉ M. SERRANO RUIZ-CALDERON,Adoption as an alternative to the FIVET
Prof. THOMAS HILGERS,Naprotechnology® in the evaluation and treatment of infertility
UAN DE DIOS VIAL CORREA
ELIO SGRECCIA
INTRODUCTION
The formulation of the subject that was presented to the Tenth General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life, both in its title and its sub-title, indicates the specific slant of the reflection that the Pontifical Academy for Life wished to pursue in relation to artificial procreation.
Almost always the ‘scientific’ literature, namely popularising literature, present in this field directs attention to the effects and the results of these forms of technology. The effects themselves or the results are often considered in a partial way through mere observation of the clinical and epidemiological data: only rarely are the psychological aspects also taken into account.
Ethics, which in these subjects should receive the most attention, is ‘reduced’ to utilitarian ethics and percentage terms.
The aspect that the Pontifical Academy for Life wanted to consider is the anthropological aspect in its deepest sense, its spiritual and moral sense, in order to see what conceptions of man, of mankind, of parenthood, and of the relationship between parents and children, emerge when in a technological sense the procreative moment is separated from the conjugal act in order to place the beginning of the life of an individual human in the hands of a technologist and his exploitation of it.
Such an examination should take place beyond the arguments of the laboratory, which, nonetheless, can have an influence that is in itself alarming.
Many of the papers printed in this volume engage in a detailed analysis of these aspects, which refer to the being of the individuals involved, quite beyond the aspects of feasibility and technological creation. This may constitute an evaluative and cultural contribution to this field of study.
Another characteristic that provoked interest during the proceedings of the assembly and which can act as a stimulus for researchers and workers in this area is the fact that broad attention is paid to the subjects of prevention, infertility, the possibility of real and authentic therapies for some situations of infertility and some ‘aids’ towards the success of the procreative process implemented in a natural way. Adoption was also taken into consideration as a prospect for spiritual and emotional fertility of a social character.
Lastly, we should not forget the interest provoked by the papers of a juridical character on the responsibility of lawmakers in relation to the field of bio-law. Members of parliament favourable to respect for life are often in a minority. If a good law is not accepted, they find themselves in the uncomfortable situation of having to choose ‘damage limitation’ from the range of options presented, and they have to be careful not to fall into compromise or contradiction.
On this subject the Church has provided indications in the Encyclical Evangelium Vitae and then in 2003 in a further document entitled ‘A Doctrinal Note on some Questions Concerning the Involvement and the Behaviour of Catholics in Political Life’, an evident sign of an alive and debated subject.
JOHN PAUL II
Message
ON THE X ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT
OF THE PONTIFICAL ACADEMY FOR LIFE
17 febbraio 2004
Venerable Brothers, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. With pleasure I send you my Message on the occasion of the day on which you are commemorating the 10th anniversary of the foundation of the Pontifical Academy for Life. Once again I express my gratitude to each one of you for the Academy's high-quality service of spreading the "Gospel of life". I greet in particular Prof. Juan de Dios Vial Correa, President, Bishop Elio Sgreccia, Vice-President, and the entire Administrative Council.
First of all, I thank the Lord with you for your useful Institution which was added 10 years ago to the others created after the Council. The doctrinal and pastoral Bodies of the Apostolic See are the first to benefit from your collaboration with regard to the knowledge and facts that decisions in the area of moral norms regarding life require. This is the case with the Pontifical Councils for the Family and for Health Pastoral Care, as well as in response to requests from the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and from other Dicasteries and Offices.
2. As the years have passed, the importance of the Pontifical Academy for Life has become more and more evident. However, while progress in the biomedical sciences gives us a glimpse of promising prospects for the good of humanity and the treatment of chronic and distressing diseases, it also frequently presents serious problems concerning the respect for human life and the dignity of the person.
The growing control of medical technology in the process of human procreation, discoveries in the fields of genetics and molecular biology, changes in the therapeutic treatment of seriously-ill patients as well as the spread of currents of thought of a utilitarian or hedonistic inspiration are factors that can lead to aberrant conduct as well as to drafting laws which are unjust with regard to the dignity of the person and the respect that the inviolability of innocent life requires.
3. Your contribution is also invaluable to intellectuals, especially Catholics, "who are called to be present and active in the leading centres where culture is formed, in schools and universities, in places of scientific and technological research..." (Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae, n. 98). The Pontifical Academy for Life was set up for this purpose, with the specific task "to study and to provide information and training about the principal problems of law and biomedicine pertaining to the promotion and protection of life, especially in the direct relationship they ” have with Christian morality and the directives of the Church's Magisterium" (Motu Proprio Vitae Mysterium, n. 4; L'Osservatore Romano English edition [ORE], 9 March 1994, p. 3).
In a word, your highly responsible role includes the complex subject known today as "bioethics". I thank you for your commitment to examining specific issues of great interest and likewise for furthering the dialogue between scientific investigation and philosophical and theological reflection, guided by the Magisterium. Researchers, especially those who work in the field of biomedicine, must be made more and more aware of the beneficial enrichment that can derive from combining scientific rigour and the claims of anthropology and Christian ethics.
4. Dear brothers and sisters, may your service now with 10 years of experience continue to be increasingly appreciated and supported and provide the desired results in the field of the humanization of biomedical science and the convergence of scientific research and faith.
To this end, I invoke upon the Academy for Life continuous divine assistance through its Patroness, the Virgin Mary, and as I assure my remembrance in prayer to each one, I impart a special Apostolic Blessing to you all, which I willingly extend to your collaborators and your loved one.
JOHN PAUL II
ADDRESSTO THE MEMBERSOF THE PONTIFICAL ACADEMY FOR LIFE
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
1.I am pleased to be able to personally meet all of you, members of the Pontifical Academy for Life, on this special occasion when you are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Academy's foundation. You are commemorating all the people who contributed to its birth, with a special thought for the distinguished and meritorious Prof. Jérôme Lejeune, your first President, whose memory I cherish with gratitude and love.
I thank Prof. Juan de Dios Vial Correa, President, for his kind words, and I also greet the Vice-President, Bishop Elio Sgreccia, and the members of the Administrative Council, expressing to one and all my appreciation for the great dedication with which you support the Academy's activity.
2.You are now taking part in two "Study Days" devoted to the topic of artificial procreation. The subject is proving full of serious problems and implications which deserve careful examination. Essential values are at stake, not only for the Christian faithful but also for human beings as such.
What emerges ever more clearly in the procreation of a new creature is its indispensable bond with spousal union, by which the husband becomes a father through the conjugal union with his wife, and the wife becomes a mother through the conjugal union with her husband. The Creator's plan is engraved in the physical and spiritual nature of the man and of the woman, and as such has universal value.
The act in which the spouses become parents through the reciprocal and total gift of themselves makes them cooperators with the Creator in bringing into the world a new human being called to eternal life. An act so rich that it transcends even the life of the parents cannot be replaced by a mere technological intervention, depleted of human value and at the mercy of the determinism of technological and instrumental procedures.
3.Rather, it is the scientist's task to investigate the causes of male and female infertility, in order to prevent this situation of suffering in spouses who long to find "in their child a confirmation and completion of their reciprocal self-giving" (Donum Vitae, II, A, n. 1). Consequently, I would like to encourage scientific research that seeks a natural way to overcome the infertility of the spouses, and likewise to urge all specialists to perfect those procedures that can serve this end. I hope that the scientific community - I appeal particularly to those scientists who are believers - may advance reassuringly on the road to true prevention and authentic treatment.
4.The Pontifical Academy for Life will not fail to do everything in its power to encourage every valid initiative which aims to avoid the dangerous manipulation that is part of the processes of artificial procreation.
May the community of the faithful itself strive to support authentic research channels and, when making decisions, resist technological possibilities that replace true parenthood and is therefore harmful to the dignity of both parents and children.
In support of these wishes, I cordially impart my Blessing to you all, which I willingly extend to all your loved ones.
John Paul II
(official translation of the original Italian version published in "L'Osservatore Romano" di Domenica 22 febbraio 2004, p. 5)
Final Communiqué
1. This year, on its 10th anniversary, the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV) has devoted the debates and deliberations of its General Assembly to a topic of very great contemporary relevance and strong social impact. This subject that was well expressed by the title of the meeting: 'The dignity of human procreation and reproductive technologies. Anthropological and ethical aspects'.
2. By now more than 25 years have passed since the birth of the first baby created by a procedure of fertilisation in vitro. It is estimated that since that time more than 1 million children have been born throughout the world employing the same procedures. Indeed, during these years the use of techniques of assisted reproduction has undergone a progressive diffusion in various countries of the world, in many cases leading national governments to develop specific legislation to govern the complex procedures connected with the use of these methods.
In this field as well, scientific research has invested increasing human and economic resources in order to make these 'artificial reproductive techniques' (ART) more 'effective', without, however, managing to obtain a substantial increase in the overall rate of births compared to the number of cycles of treatment. Indeed, this rate remains so low that if it were to occur in other kinds of medical treatment it would without doubt be interpreted as a clear sign of fundamental technical failure. Furthermore, in the case of artificial procreation such a low level of success, in addition to being a statistical fact attesting to technical failure, often has as a sad consequence very great suffering and disappointment on the part of couples who thus see their hopes of parenthood by this route frustrated.
Unfortunately, this negative statistical fact is tragically matched at an empirical level by an enormous loss of human embryos. This is because the greatest difficulties still to be found at a practical level in ART are specifically encountered at the moment of implantation and during the subsequent development of the embryo.
3. It should also be noted that the intervention of medicine upon the act of procreation was initiated under the aegis of helping the 'treatment of sterility' in many couples afflicted by this condition and in response to a sincere desire for parenthood. The data available today, moreover, demonstrate that the incidence of sterility in couples is increasing, above all in Western societies, a fact that invites science to engage in the demanding task of identifying its real causes and finding remedies for it. This original aim, however, has in part changed over time. On the one hand, it has at times been expressed in an approach which one might term 'self-congratulatory'. In the face of a large number of cases of sterility caused by unascertained factors, and without being concerned about engaging in further diagnostic and clinical investigations, this approach perceives in the hasty use of artificial reproductive techniques the only useful form of treatment there is. On the other hand, an even more worrying phenomenon is looming on the horizon. We refer here to the progressive emergence of a new mentality, according to which recourse to ART constitutes a preferential route - compared to the 'natural' route - to bring a child into this world because it is possible through these techniques to exercise a more effective 'control' over the quality of the conceived child in line with the wishes of those who ask for such a child. All this works in favour of seeing the child obtained through the use of ART as being on the same level as a 'product' whose value in reality depends in large measure on its 'good quality', which for its part is subjected to severe controls and careful selection. The dramatic consequence of this is the systematic elimination of those human embryos that lack the level of quality that is held to be sufficient, and, moreover, according to parameters and criteria that are inevitably disputable.
Unfortunately, there are scientific and legislative initiatives designed to produce human embryos through ART to be 'used' exclusively for research purposes - which amounts to their destruction - and thereby transforming them into laboratory objects, sacrificial victims predestined to be immolated on the altar of scientific progress that has to be followed 'at all costs'.
4. In the light of all of this, the Pontifical Academy for Life, in conformity with its institutional purpose, feels the need and at the same time the responsibility to offer the ecclesial community and civil society its contribution of thought on the subject in order to propose again to every person of good will the very great dignity of human procreation and its intrinsic meanings.