Family Ties: A Catholic Response to Donor-Conceived Families
The tension between affirmation of biological bonds and spiritual bonds in Catholic theology creates space for expressing serious worries about sperm and egg donation and for asking difficult questions about the widespread desire for forging genetic connections between parents and children. Both Cat...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
[2015]
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| In: |
Christian bioethics
Year: 2015, Volume: 21, Issue: 2, Pages: 181-198 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality KDB Roman Catholic Church NCB Personal ethics NCF Sexual ethics NCH Medical ethics |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The tension between affirmation of biological bonds and spiritual bonds in Catholic theology creates space for expressing serious worries about sperm and egg donation and for asking difficult questions about the widespread desire for forging genetic connections between parents and children. Both Catholic sexual teaching and Catholic social teaching point to the problematic nature of donor conception. Emerging social science data on the donor-conceived suggest that the teaching has explanatory power. Combining the two leads to a strong moral presumption against heterologous artificial fertilization. However, other elements of the Christian tradition (i.e., theology of adoption, the states of life available to Christians, and Jesus' teachings on family) make possible a much more expansive understanding of family ties that raises questions about the need for donor conception while underlining the importance of welcoming the great diversity of existing families. |
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| ISSN: | 1744-4195 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christian bioethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/cb/cbv003 |