Originally published at Churchpop
What does the Catholic Church teach about IVF (in vitro fertilization)?
Over the past week, IVF trended across social media due to former President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would mandate insurance companies to cover the procedure. This sparked huge debates on both sides of the spectrum.
In an interview with Chris Stefanick, Father Mike Schmitz explains Catholic Church teaching regarding IVF.
He says that while the Church is compassionate towards those who have difficulty conceiving, it’s important to recognize that “God is the author of life” and we cannot separate “bonding and babies”
“Just because we can do something, doesn’t mean that we should do it,” he says. “When it comes to the mystery of sex and life, we can never violate one aspect of the sexual act in favor of another.”
He continues, saying that IVF “removes the act of love from the act of life.”
“As followers of Christ, we can’t violate that intrinsic meaning of the sexual act, which is both love and life. It’s both bonding and babies.”
However, Father Mike clarifies that “every child who’s conceived through in vitro is still a child of God and still made a God’s image and likeness.”
“It’s not as if they’re not loved and that’s