Right to Life, SCOP host annual Humanae Vitae lecture series
Notre Dame Right to Life (RtL) and Students for Child-Oriented Policy (SCOP) co-hosted a lecture delivered by Melissa Moschella, Professor of the Practice in philosophy, on the ethics of In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and surrogacy on February 12.
The Humanae Vitae lecture series—named after Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical—strives to cultivate the proper nature and role of sex in human life on campus through discussion and education. The series, begun in 2021, has previously addressed topics including dating, Natural Family Planning (NFP), marriage, and contraception. Last spring, University President Father Robert Dowd, C.S.C. delivered the lecture, titled, “Recognizing Divine Purpose in Life’s ‘Imperfections.’”
IVF is an artificial process of “fertility treatment” that involves collecting eggs from a woman, fertilizing the eggs with donated sperm in a laboratory dish, and reinserting several human embryos back into the uterus. On average, between 10 to 15 eggs are harvested from a woman at a time, about 80 percent of which are successfully fertilized. Any eggs not implanted are discarded or frozen. According to Moschella, a moderate estimate is that there are currently five million frozen embryos in the U.S. alone.
RtL president Jackie Nguyen told the Rover, “Each year, we host the Humanae Vitae lecture to highlight a pressing life issue, reminding club members that being pro-life extends beyond opposing abortion but to topics such as IVF, contraception, marriage, etc.”
“With new technologies and ideas constantly emerging, being pro-life requires vigilance in recognizing new threats to human dignity by revisiting Humanae Vitae to remain rooted in a consistent life ethic,” Nguyen concluded.
Moschella began her talk, “Many people use IVF, not even thinking about the ethical considerations, because they’re just told by their doctors, this is the right thing for you to do.” She explained, “We’re just trying to think objectively about whether the use of these technologies is, in fact, a good approach that is fully respectful of the dignity of all the human beings involved.”
Moschella explained, “Bioethicists talk about the U.S. as the wild west of reproductive medicine, because pretty much anything goes. … Ultimately [the clinics] can do whatever they want if they’re able to get clients.” Regarding surrogates specifically, “The Europeans come to the U.S. to get surrogates because in Europe it’s illegal because they worry about exploitation of women, but it’s legal here anyway.”
“There’s a huge class issue, including a first world, developing world issue with regard to surrogacy. In the U.S., surrogates tend to be working class women,” Moschella continued. “Those who hire the surrogates tend to be much more white collar, wealthy individuals. And so there’s a power imbalance there.”
Regarding repeat egg donors, she said, “Some of these young women, sadly, have also lost their own fertility as a result of side effects of these exotic procedures.” She explained, “This is a process that is not without risk for the women involved.”
“I think the core ethical problem with reproductive technologies, in general, including surrogacy, is that it tends to treat people like products,” said Moschella. She claimed this is particularly true for the women acting as donors or surrogates, as well as the human embryos, citing experts of natural law, like St. Thomas Aquinas, to support her point.
Moschella continued, “Then there’s the element of, you know, seeking to get what you ordered and only what you ordered. If I order something from Amazon and it’s not what I wanted or it doesn’t fit, I return it, right? And you see this kind of attitude reflected in things like selective reduction or selective abortion. Selective reduction is a euphemism for selective abortion: When you have an unwanted multiple pregnancy or when the child is considered defective according to whatever standards the parents have.”
Moschella concluded her lecture with a discussion about potential ethical alternatives to IVF practices. Natural Procreative Technology (NaPro) is a form of restorative reproduction technology that monitors the woman’s reproductive health and cooperates completely with the reproductive system through medical and surgical treatments.
Moschella noted, “NaPro actually identifies the problem, heals the underlying problem when possible—and often it is possible—and the process actually improves the mother’s health, because the underlying problem is actually something that affects the mother’s health, whereas IVF puts the mother’s health at risk.”
Andrew Moffet, a freshman in Morrissey Manor, commented on the lecture: “The overall reaction that I had to IVF was that it economizes human life, and that totally strips away the dignity of each human, and therefore it is incompatible with the Catholic moral framework.”
He added, “I think more talks with a wider influence and reach are necessary for contentious issues—you know, very moral problems but very real problems, such as IVF.”
IVF has recently been in national headlines, too. Following the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, states have been debating both abortion and IVF access. On February 18, Trump signed an executive order to expand access to and reduce costs of IVF for families. Trump has called for universal coverage of IVF.
The executive order reads, “To support American families, it is the policy of my Administration to ensure reliable access to IVF treatment, including by easing unnecessary statutory or regulatory burdens to make IVF treatment drastically more affordable.” By mid-May, policy proposals intended to increase access and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket costs will be submitted to President Trump.
On March 15, the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture and the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend will host a prenatal care conference in Geddes Hall. Registration is available on the diocese’s website until March 1.
Jack Krieger is a freshman from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania studying international economics and constitutional studies. He considered studying PLS instead, but he would like a job one day. He can be reached at jkrieger@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: Diocese of Phoenix
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