A couple from California is suing the surrogate they hired, for allegedly violating the contract she had with them. The surrogacy agreement stipulated that the couple could request an abortion if prenatal tests indicated that fetal abnormalities were present. This they did in April, after the baby was diagnosed “in utero” with a heart condition—a heart condition that is serious but very treatable. The surrogate, however, refused to have the abortion, and gave birth to a baby boy on August 12. Now she faces a legal battle with the couple, who are suing her for more than $100,000 in damages for not terminating the child’s life.
The Catholic Church condemns surrogacy because it entails “the dissociation of husband and wife, by the intrusion of a person other than the couple,” and because it infringes on “the child’s right to be born of a father and mother known to him and bound to each other by marriage.” (CCC 2376)
It also leads to situations like the one involving this California couple and their hired surrogate. In accord with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Irene Alexander, a moral theology professor from the University of Dallas, has described surrogacy as a “dissociation of all the aspects of human sexuality: love, parenthood, and the good of the child are all spliced into parts” that lead “the children to suffer because those things are inseparably connected. Once you violate the order of reality that was intended to be one whole; once you’ve committed so many levels of injustice, you’re left with the mess that does injustice to the child and to the unity of marriage.”
Many couples turn to things like surrogacy and IVF because they’re dealing with the pain and heartache of infertility, and they think there are no other viable options. But there are. One of those options is NaProTECHNOLOGY. On a website devoted to Catholic infertility resources, NaProTECHNOLOGY (Natural Procreative Technology) is described as “a women’s health science that monitors and maintains a woman’s reproductive and gynecological health. It provides medical and surgical treatments that cooperate completely with the reproductive system. NaProTECHNOLOGY goes beyond symptom management and strives to address and resolve the root cause of women’s health issues.”
One of those issues is infertility. If infertility is a problem for you or for a relative or friend, NaProTECHNOLOGY could be could a solution as it is morally acceptable for Catholics and is highly effective. You can learn more by visiting to their website: https://naprotechnology.com.
