Artificial Limbo: The Moral Quandary of Frozen Embryos

By Andrew M. Greenwell, Esq.
7/12/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Modern man has spurned the teachings of the Church, has spurned the natural moral law

Were we to go to such cryopreservation facilities where the frozen human embryos are preserved, we would be confronted with a veritable man-made limbo. Thousands upon thousands of human embryos--live human souls trapped in their tiny frozen "body"--whose natural development has been suspended. One count has these poor frozen souls numbered at almost 400,000 in the United States alone. We confront a moral quandary before these tiny frozen humans: we do not clearly know what we can do with them.

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CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online) - St. Thomas Aquinas taught that no innocent person would ever be placed in a position where he has to select between two wrongs so as to be forced to choose between evils. In other words, the innocent agent would never be perplexed by a moral dilemma. Any moral dilemmas confronted by an innocent could be shown to be only apparent. God would not place the innocent in such a situation.

However, this was not St. Thomas's view when it came to a wrongdoer. St. Thomas believed that a wrongdoer was not necessarily assured that he would not find himself in a moral dilemma. While in most cases a wrongdoer could escape those moral dilemmas caused by his prior wrongful acts, it was possible that, in a certain case, like a careless painter he could paint himself into a moral corner by his own prior acts.

If the wrongdoer faced such a moral dilemma, however he acted he would be condemned to sin. He would confront a Hobson's choice where neither option was good. He would therefore find himself morally perplexed. If he wanted to do good, he could not act. But not acting would not resolve the problem.

Modern man has put himself in what may be an irresolvable dilemma, one which even perplexes the Church.

With his technical prowess through his hubris morally unchecked, modern man has sinned against human life and the moral law that governs the procreative process. Instead of a "great 'yes' to human life," he has expressed a great 'no' to human life. He has murdered hundreds millions perhaps even a billions of his kind through direct abortion and the "contraceptive" techniques that are in fact abortions.

Modern man rejects the notion: "The Lord puts to death and gives life." (1 Sam. 2:6). For him it is man who puts to death when and how he wills. His instruments of killing have gotten small indeed, so that they reach the tiniest humans, violating them or poisoning them or their natural environment. Our mother's wombs have become killing fields.

Additionally, in engaging in all sorts of artificial conception techniques, specifically, those associated with in vitro fertilization, man has also dabbled in the black technical arts of "illegitimate spawning" to borrow words from Seamus Heaney's poem "Limbo."

Again, modern man rejects the notion: "The Lord puts to death and gives life." (1 Sam. 2:6). For him it is also man who gives life.

It is these latter sins that may have put modern man in an irresolvable moral dilemma. He may have painted himself into a moral corner. And in so doing he may have manufactured an artificial limbo where he has condemned hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of his kind.

The ordinary in vitro fertilization techniques require the production of a number of human embryos; many more embryos are produced than will eventually be born. Some of these embryos are frozen in liquid nitrogen--placed in cryopreservation--for future use in the event those embryos that are used do not successful result in the birth of a child.

The Church addresses the moral problems associated with in vitro fertilization in the instruction Dignitatis personae. For a variety of reasons, these techniques are found wanting because they violate the union between procreation and the conjugal act. Moreover, they offend against the dignity of the embryo.

The Church teaches that the "human embryo has . . . the dignity proper to a person." DP, 6. As a consequence, such cryopreservation "is incompatible with the respect owed to human embryos." DP, 18. Moreover, it is foreseeable that many of these embryos do not survive the process of initial freezing or the process of thawing once frozen.

Some, however, do survive the thawing process. And these are used in the medical procedures which, if effective, lead to the birth of a child. Once the couple's desires have been satisfied, however, there are often a great number of these embryos that remain in suspended animation while they are in cryopreservation. Like the fishermen at Ballyshannon in Seamus Heany's poem "Limbo," our moral nets have captured an "illegitimate spawning," small ones "thrown back to the waters," frozen waters to be sure.

The Church observes: "The majority of embryos that are not used remain 'orphans.' Their parents do not ask for them and at times all trace of the parents is lost. That is why there are thousands upon thousands of frozen embryos in almost all countries ...

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1 - 8 of 8 Comments

Mike
10 months ago
I'm not a theologist, but wouldn't the morally best solution be to stop IVF ASAP and then to keep all the frozen embryos in their stasis until such a time as we have the technology to safely unfreeze them all and then to find people willing to have the child? I know that IVF is morally unacceptable, but wouldn't it be acceptable in the interests of saving the life of a child that can only live a life through that method?
Diane
10 months ago
This article clearly brought home to me what a monstrous evil IVF is. Those poor trapped souls. What will God do for some humans who do such horrible things? To leave the soul of your own child trapped like that by your own wilful choice. Such unnatural and perverted evil.
Steve P
10 months ago
This is certainly a sticky situation and something that must be pondered. I'll give my two cents. From the perspective of justice, every child has the right to be conceived within the loving, natural embrace of intercourse between his/her father and mother in the marital bond, as well as to continue natural growth in the womb through birth. Although every child conceived is a gift, to conceive a child outside of this context is a grave moral evil. Likewise, even though these children are already conceived, to "adopt" the embryos via surrogates is not a moral answer, for it is contrary to the dignity of the child to have him/her grow elsewhere other than his/her mother's womb.

What's the solution? As with end of life issues, which the Church teaches it is moral to not have to provide extraordinary measures to try to save a life (such as keeping a person on life-support indefinitely), but it would be acceptable to allow a person to die naturally, it would be morally permissible to allow these embryos to die by simply allowing them to thaw out. We can show utmost respect for their lives by holding public funerals, acknowledging the sacredness of life.

To try for adoption is to affirm embryo surrogacy, which is a grave moral evil. Although there would be great sadness at the loss of these lives, we must work to preserve a consistent ethic of life.
Jeff
10 months ago
To Steve - I am a sinner in need of Christ's mercy, I am not your judge. I answer because you asked, not to condemn you. And admittedly, I have not walked in your shoes.

You said, "So, the question is, did we do the right, moral thing." The answer is no. The Church teaches that IVF is not acceptable. I am aware of no exception to this based on the details of how one goes about IVF or on one's intent as it pertains to IVF.

Through the text of your comment, it seems that you are aware that the Church teaches IVF is unacceptable. That the Church teaches this is enough. It is not necessary that one like the Church's teaching to submit to it.

This article addresses the frozen limbo that these children are subject to. That is terrible, but not the only thing that makes IVF sinful for the participants. There is also the separation of the procreatve and the unitive aspects of the marital act. (I am trying but doubt that I am using the Church's exact wording on this.)

The difficulties and trials of infertility do not relieve one from obeying this teaching. Unfortunately, these difficulties can become a temptation to rationalize a decision against Church teaching.

The GREAT news is that the perfect sacrifice has already been made that we may be forgiven for our sins. If you have not already, go to confession and have this forgiveness dispensed to you. Yes, I am a sinner too and make use of this sacrament myself.

Congratulations on the expansion to your family!
Andrew M. Greenwell
10 months ago
@michael: I agree with your assessment. There are some theologians who argue adoption, but I find the arguments unpersuasive, and I think it would be temerarious and imprudent to act on the personal opinion of a theologian and "adopt" one of these embryos when the Church has clearly reserved ruling and done so in a negative way. Religious submission is to be given to the Church's assessment. To be sure, it is a very deeply troubling matter. It presents a tremendous act of permanent injustice against the frozen embryos. That's why Pope John Paul II begged countries and physicians involved in IVF "that the production of human embryos be halted, taking into account that there seems to be no morally licit solution regarding the human destiny of the thousands and thousands of ‘frozen’ embryos which are and remain the subjects of essential rights and should therefore be protected by law as human persons.” Alas, no one listens.
michael
10 months ago
IVF is intrinsically evil...the Christ, Holy Church, and the natural law tell us so. Whether with Octo-mom or the hard case mentioned in one of the comments, it is still evil. Whatever priest told that good person that it was licit was in serious error and endangered souls in the process. As for the teaching on what to do with frozen embryos, it is fairly obvious. First, they cannot be baptized for in doing this it would kill them in the process. Secondly, they cannot unfrozen and placed in the womb of a woman for that is an intrinsically evil act as well. Adoption of embryos is illicit. Although Holy Church has not come out clearly on this point, the natural law tells us the answer already. Plus, the letter Donum Vitae basically closes the door on any notion of adoption of embryos. We must simply allow these poor embryos to remain in a frozen state.
DLL
10 months ago
Modern man is a manipulator and not the Creator. Clever manipulation is in the name of science,perhaps a mad science,it is deemed to be extraordinary to be able to achieve this incredible technology. Modern man is devising laws to govern the legitimate aspects for the justification for the continuation of any human life,not just the life of an embryo. That is really what healthcare is about as it really means wealth care. The life of one who might become an economic burden can be or will be extinguished ultimately by law. If the creation of and the the maintainence of any embryo for what ever reason is economically lucrative,than so be it,as that is good for the economy. Fetal body parts for sale is good for the profit of some. Conscience matters always seem to yield to economic issues. Economy is the modern religion. Jesus said the one cannot serve God and Mammon. Political correctness is designed to make the abomination morally acceptable and then design laws that protect the abomination as legitimate. Fight against the abomination in good conscience and you will be called a judgemental individual,even by members of ones own family. The civil war is a war about moral values and about what constitute the traditional values that must be preserved to maintain the basic human rights of everyone.
Steve
10 months ago
I will try to summarize our own personal experience with IVF. We had been married almost 3 years when we found out that we had male infertility. But our doctor recommended seeing a fertility specialist. The only option the doctor had for us was IVF. I agonized over using IVF. After discussing it with a priest friend, we decided we would go ahead with it , but only under special circumstanced. My wife would take the hormanal injections, but only 4, no more than that would be used to concieve an embryo. As it turned out, she only had 4 ova that matured and could be used. We truely befieved we could take care of quadruplets if all four eggs did in fact grow. As it turned out though, only one of the fertilized eggs divided and grew, so it was implanted into my wife. Let me say at this time, I was very torn by our situation, consulted our preist freind, and in the end I felt the way we used IVF was proper, although I was completely aware of the Churches teaching.
As it turned out, my wife's HCG level was measured several day later, and it was elevated, which was a good sign she was pregnant. But as time went by the HCG level dropped back to normal wiithin a 1-2 week span. So, if the fertilized egg grew any more after implantation, she actually had an early miscarriage. We of course we quite upset. The IVF doctor had recommended using more eggs, but I did not want any frozen embryos, as you mention in your article, and all the reasons are quite clear to me. We never tried IVF again. But we did adopt four wonder boys and couldn't be happier.
As our priest friend said, the Catholic Church is very supportive of procreation, but it had yet to really deal with infertile couples.
At the time we felt we did the right thing. No frozen embryos resulted, but only at our request. I know these are difficult decisions for married couples, and it obviously works for many. But I could never leave frozen embryos behind,
I really do think our Church should address this more. It is quite devastating when it is determined you are infertile.
So, the question is, did we do the right, moral thing. Certainlly I felt we did at the time. But we realize now that our four sons would never have been a part of our lifes if the IVF had worked. I can't imagine our lifes' without them now.

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