On Monday, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) filed a 17-page letter urging the Department of Labor to reject a proposed rule that would expand insurance coverage opportunities for in vitro fertilization (IVF). The proposed rule would create a category of limited expected benefits that includes IVF and other fertility-related treatments.
While the USCCB supported expanding treatments that respect unborn human life, it opposed the inclusion of IVF: “In contrast to restorative reproductive medicine, IVF does not aim to treat the underlying causes of infertility but seeks to bypass them (…) IVF, especially as practiced in the U.S., kills or freezes at least as many preborn children as abortion, at a magnitude of thousands or perhaps over a million per year.”
The letter also warned about the commodification of human beings and pointed out that promoting IVF “stands in glaring contrast to this administration’s other pro-life statements and actions.”
More information can be found at EWTN News here.