Making Babies

Two recent articles in the Washington Post have provided fertile ground for reflection on the Church's teaching about the dignity of the human person, especially as elucidated in Donum Vitae.

In that document, the CDF (headed by then-Cardinal Ratzinger) condemned heterologous artificial insemination, in part, because it "violates the rights of the child; it deprives him of his filial relationship with his parental origins and can hinder the maturing of his personal identity."  Here, a young woman, the child of an anonymous sperm donation, movingly states on behalf of other children similarly conceived, "we are recognizing the right that was stripped from us at birth -- the right to know who both our parents are."

Elsewhere in Donum Vitae, attempts to produce "human beings selected accorded to sex or other predetermined qualities" are condemned as "contrary to the personal dignity of the human being and his or her integrity and identity."  Just yesterday, we learn the following:

A Texas company has started producing batches of ready-made embryos that single women and infertile couples can order after reviewing detailed information about the race, education, appearance, personality and other characteristics of the egg and sperm donors.

The Abraham Center of Life LLC of San Antonio, the first commercial dealer making embryos in advance for unspecified recipients, was created to help make it easier and more affordable for clients to have babies that match their preferences, according to its founder.

Read more here.