Catholic bioethicist raises ethical concerns with ‘three parent embryos’

While the Catholic Church has consistently voiced major ethical concerns over in vitro fertilization, or IVF, there are now many additional ethical issues to address as modern science continues to explore areas of human reproduction, including with the creation of “three parent” embryos in an effort to prevent mitochondrial disease.

Jason T. Eberl, a professor of philosophy and director of the Albert Gnaegi Center for Bioethics at St. Louis University, spoke with OSV News’ Charlie Camosy about this effort and the Catholic Church’s teaching when it comes to artificial technologies and human reproduction as the field continues to come forward with new techniques.

Charlie Camosy: What are some overarching principles the Catholic Church has when it comes to licit and illicit technologies used to assist in procreation?

Jason T. Eberl: The Church of course views children as a blessing who should be welcomed within loving families and affirms that openness to procreation — equally with the unitive love shared between a couple — is an essential dimension of the marital covenant.

Nevertheless, there are moral limits on the use of various technological means either to prevent or to assist procreation. Concerning the latter, there are two salient overarching principles. First is the moral obligation to treat all human beings (born or unborn, from fertilization onward) with the dignity due to persons, which is why the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith entitled its most recent instruction on these matters “Dignitas Personae.” Second is the moral imperative not to sunder the essential unitive and procreative dimensions of the marital covenant as affirmed in “Humanae Vitae.”

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