Can homologous artificial insemination be permitted as a treatment for male infertility?
The short answer
Generally no. Homologous insemination and fertilization, using only the spouses, are less reprehensible than donor techniques but remain morally unacceptable, because they separate the sexual act from the procreative act. The exception is a technical means that helps the marital act achieve its purpose rather than replacing it.
The teaching
The Catechism says techniques involving only the married couple are perhaps less reprehensible than those involving a donor or surrogate, yet remain morally unacceptable. They separate the sexual act from the procreative act; the act that brings the child into existence is no longer a mutual self-giving but one that places the embryo's life and identity in the power of doctors and establishes technology's domination over human origins (CCC 2377; Donum Vitae 5).
The exception
The Church allows a technical means that does not substitute for the conjugal act but helps it attain its natural purpose (Donum Vitae 6).
Continue exploring
- Isn't the Church's teaching on IVF unfair to couples who can't conceive?Q&A
- Am I required to have a large family?Q&A
- Are marital relations not supposed to be pleasurable, since they are for reproduction?Q&A
- Aren't pro-life Catholics who support a war being hypocritical?Q&A
- Can a Catholic believe the U.S. was justified in dropping atomic bombs on Japan?Q&A
- Did Fulton Sheen take a permissive stand on contraception?Q&A