A Prolegomenon to Catholic Moral Teaching on Sperm Motility Treatment
Sperm motility treatment for male infertility has, as yet, drawn no specific official Catholic teaching. Moral theologians rely on previous magisterial documents like Donum Vitae and Dignitatis Personae to state what might be morally permissible or impermissible. Some reject the treatment, holding t...
| 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
[2016]
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| In: |
Christian bioethics
Year: 2016, Volume: 22, Issue: 3, Pages: 315-324 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CF Christianity and Science KDB Roman Catholic Church NCA Ethics NCF Sexual ethics NCH Medical ethics |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Sperm motility treatment for male infertility has, as yet, drawn no specific official Catholic teaching. Moral theologians rely on previous magisterial documents like Donum Vitae and Dignitatis Personae to state what might be morally permissible or impermissible. Some reject the treatment, holding that it involves masturbation and separates the unitive and procreative ends of marriage. Experience shows that these views are truncated, devoid of nuanced applicability in concrete situations which are usually variegated. A Catholic norm based on these would be vague and pastorally deficient. Rather, a norm that takes into consideration the concrete experience of infertile couples, the social stigma of infertility, a holistic view of conjugal love, and the therapeutic value of sperm motility treatment is needed. In this essay, I present salient Catholic statements on reproductive technology and argue that sperm motility treatment is morally acceptable and imports a greater marital good.1 |
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| ISSN: | 1744-4195 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christian bioethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/cb/cbw015 |