Married couples may choose to seek assisted reproductive technology, especially when they are unable to have children naturally. We encourage couples to seek counsel and guidance when considering these technologies. However, certain assisted reproductive technologies present direct and indirect dangers to the sanctity of human life and family. As technology permits further divergence from normal physiologic reproduction, it can lead to perplexing moral dilemmas. Not every technological procedure is morally justified and some technologies may be justified only in certain circumstances. The moral and medical complexities of assisted reproductive technologies require full disclosure both of the medical options available and their ethical implications.
Procedures such as discarding or destroying embryos, selective abortion, destructive experimentation with embryos, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, true surrogacy, etc. raise moral concerns and questions. Organizations like the National Embryo Donation Center seek to uphold the sanctity of human life in all stages by offering a high quality, scientifically and ethically sound way to ensure no human embryos are discarded or sacrificed for research.
