SWA #20

John Morin

Professor Mikhaylova

English 102-111

Formal Outline, Draft 1

Formal Outline Questions of the Third Essay

1.      The issue of In Vitro Fertilization is that, for members of the Catholic Church who perform IVF in the hopes of conceiving a child (assuming IVF is the only feasible way of conceiving), the process often destroys embryos that are not used. This directly violates the Church’s moral stance that defines a living being as an embryo. In short, if a couple were to fully undergo IVF, they are willingly killing a person(s). For many people who are faithful Catholics and sterile, this is an extremely powerful moral dilemma. As there is no real standpoint on such a thing in the Bible, and the Church (in their mind) cannot be wrong on this issue, a Catholic performing IVF willingly goes against the credo of their established faith.

2.      There are many different stances of this topic. For Catholics who perform IVF, they willingly go against the Church’s doctrine to conceive a child. The question that is, and perhaps will never be answered for these people, is whether a God who let IVF be conceived as a medical procedure  condemn the people who do it. For members of the clergy, who have willingly given up the right to have children in favor of committing their lives to God, they fully support the stance that the leaders of the Church take. If a clergy member were to speak against the Church’s view, it would endanger their role as a clergy member, and as a result, there are very few documented instances of clergy members speaking out against the issue. For doctors who are Christian, and support IVF, the question is raised as to whether what they are doing is justified by the happiness couples find in having children. For members of different faith communities besides Christianity, the question as to whether a fertilized embryo is a human being is considerable, as it is difficult to truly define what humanity is.

3.      On a personal level, I believe that IVF is a good thing. I sometimes believe that the clergy, with all the good they do, cannot truly understand what it is like to not be able to have children because they willingly gave up the option. Therefore, it is difficult for me to support them, when they do not understand how many people who didn’t chose the infertility they were given try to find ways to conceive. As a member of a family where several people are sterile because of cancer, I support IVF as a way for my loved ones to be given a blessing in a way where it previously couldn’t be given. Nevertheless, it is very difficult for me to go against the established moral standpoints of my faith, because I cannot help but wonder if I am, in the Lord’s eyes, a bad person for supporting it.

4.      Thesis: Despite the Catholic Church’s adamant refusal to acknowledge In Vitro Fertilization as a beneficial procedure for humanity, IVF helps hundreds of thousands of people fulfill positive dreams when the option for children is otherwise denied naturally.

5.      Conclusion: While In Vitro Fertilization is a heavily debated topic, one cannot deny that the ultimate goal of IVF, to conceive children in the face of infertility, is a noble one. Although the Catholic Church does not support certain practices that IVF does, it is possible for a person to go through IVF and stay within the moral boundaries of the Church.