On Tuesday, President Trump signed an executive order that asked for a list of policy recommendations to protect access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and “aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments.”
“As pastors, we see the suffering of so many couples experiencing infertility and know their deep desire to have children is both good and admirable; yet the Administration’s push for IVF, which ends countless human lives and treats persons like property, cannot be the answer,” reflected Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop Robert E. Barron, chairman of the Committee for Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, in response to the executive order.
“The IVF industry treats human beings like products and freezes or kills millions of children who are not selected for transfer to a womb or do not survive. Tuesday’s executive order promoting IVF is thus fatally flawed and stands in regrettable contrast to the promising pro-life actions of the Administration last month.” To read the full USCCB statement, click here.
Last May, the MCC Messenger dove into the topic of IVF, church teaching, and the Alabama Supreme Court ruling. Click here to read that issue of Messenger.