Human Embryo Adoption, vol. 2: Catholic Arguments For and Against makes a vital contribution to the intense discussion concerning what could be ethical solutions to the tragedy of millions of human embryos imprisoned in a frozen state because of in vitro fertilization (IVF).
View Full PostThere are many shocking aspects to the euphemistically termed Medical Assistance in Dying or MAiD euthanasia law in Canada. One is how government forces are coercing Catholic health care in Canada to collaborate with the evil of killing sick and vulnerable people.
View Full PostMost people who have heard of Fertility-Awareness-Based Methods (FABMs) think of them as an ethical way to space pregnancies rather than as a precious tool for overcoming infertility.
View Full PostGovernor Greg Abbott recently signed into law a resolution to place a six-foot bronze statue of a mother with a preborn child on a two-foot base near the Texas Capitol building in Austin.
View Full PostPope Leo XIV in the short time since his election has already expressed himself forcefully on several bioethical topics. Unsurprisingly, he emphasizes the human dignity of every person with special attention to the most vulnerable, notably the unborn, elderly, and sick. He has also brought up the challenge of artificial intelligence several times. Prior to his election as pope he spoke clearly on the ethical problems associated with gender ideology and the “homosexual lifestyle.”
View Full PostOf very deep concern to my wife and I, along with the nearly one in seven couples who struggle with infertility, is the woeful lack of knowledge about restorative reproductive medicine (RRM) among medical professionals and others who almost always promote in vitro fertilization (IVF) instead. The good news is that something practical and positive is being done about it. This Spring, the state of Arkansas became the first to pass into law the “Reproductive Empowerment and Support Through Optimal Restoration RESTORE Act.”
View Full PostSomething often misunderstood by secular thinkers is that faithful Catholics and others with rightly formed consciences can never engage in formal cooperation with the evil actions of another person. Recently, a court in Illinois ruled that “if patients request abortions, at a minimum, the State can require medical professionals to provide information of other medical professionals whom they reasonably believe might perform abortions.”
View Full PostThe new pastoral framework from the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life, “Life Is Always a Good” was released on the 30th anniversary of Pope St. John Paul II’s remarkable encyclical Evangelium Vitae.De-extinction, using genetic technology to bring back to life an extinct species, is now a possibility, and the bioethical questions surrounding this practice are therefore more urgent. Colossal Biosciences made headlines with its “resurrection” of the dire wolf recently after an estimated 10,000 years of extinction.
View Full PostThe new pastoral framework from the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life, “Life Is Always a Good” was released on the 30th anniversary of Pope St. John Paul II’s remarkable encyclical Evangelium Vitae.
View Full PostThere is perhaps no bioethical topic more hotly debated among Catholics than the morality of adopting frozen embryos. This issue arose after the unequivocal condemnation of the practice of in vitro fertilization (IVF) by the Instruction Donum Vitae issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1987.
View Full PostThe recent symposium on brain death organized by The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), The Center for Law & the Human Person at the Columbus School of Law of The Catholic University of America (CUA), and the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University achieved a remarkable successThe Church has moved uncharacteristically rapidly in issuing an important doctrinal note, Antiqua et Nova, concerning Artificial Intelligence or (AI).
View Full PostThe Church has moved uncharacteristically rapidly in issuing an important doctrinal note, Antiqua et Nova, concerning Artificial Intelligence or (AI).
View Full PostBishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia released a pastoral letter entitled “The Christian Family, In Vitro Fertilization, and Heroic Witness to True Love” (January, 2025). In a relatively short text, it treats in a compassionate but authoritative way the thorny and misunderstood topic of in vitro fertilization (IVF).
View Full PostOn his first day in office, President Donald Trump rescinded a series of Executive Orders from Joe Biden’s presidency.
View Full PostAmerica deserves the truth when it comes to abortion statistics. I recently attended a meeting/retreat for pro-life lawmakers and organizations in Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania.
View Full PostFrom 1974–2016 the US had a series of official commissions or councils of scholars to study bioethical topics and advise Congress and presidential administrations on policy.
View Full PostTransplanting the Womb: A Catholic Bioethical Analysis, by Andrew S. Kubick, PhD, provides a thorough analysis of the ethical ramifications of uterine transplantation from the Catholic tradition’s perspective as well as secular viewpoints.
View Full PostThere are 26 US states that allow citizen-initiated ballot measures, and they often center on ethically charged issues like abortion, assisted suicide, or even legalizing recreational marijuana. 2024 saw a record 10 state ballot initiatives concerning abortion and one on assisted suicide.
View Full PostThe Biden-Harris administration has proposed a new Federal Rule that would mandate insurance coverage of over-the-counter contraceptives and thus trample on the religious freedom rights and medical ethics of those who object to being forced to subsidize contraception.
View Full PostContemporary Bioethics: Catholic Wisdom for a Confused Culture, the latest book from The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), provides some key answers and updates in the fascinating and troubling world of bioethics.
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