USCCB - Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology

Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology
USCCB, November 17, 2009

"I want to have children with you." This simple, but meaningful phrase conveys in seven words the deep trust, love, and faith a Catholic married couple have in and for each other. But the desire for children is frequently thwarted by infertility. This brief statement in question-and-answer format seeks to respond to current issues in reproductive technology – some that offer great hope, others that pose moral problems – and help Catholic couples fulfill their procreative potential and build a family.

This pastoral teaching by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is a companion publication to their earlier teaching on contraception, Married Love and the Gift of Life (2006).

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Related Church Teaching

Dignitas Personae and Related Information, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, December 12, 2008 (en Español) l (To Order)

Donum Vitae: Instruction on Respect for Human Life, Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, February 22, 1987 (en Español) l (To Order)

Humanae Vitae: On the Regulation of Birth, Pope Paul VI, July 25, 1968
(en Español) l (To Order)

Married Love and the Gift of Life, USCCB, November 14, 2006 (en Español) l (To Order)

Additional Resources for Couples Facing Infertility

Reproductive Technology (Evaluation & Treatment of Infertility) Guidelines (PDF)

Can fertility awareness (NFP) help some couples to conceive?

Fact Sheet -- In Vitro Fertilization: The Human Cost

Assisted Reproductive Technologies are Anti-Woman, by Marie Anderson, M.D., FACOG and John Bruchalski, M.D., 2004 (en Español)

Addressing Infertility with Compassion and Clarity, by Rev. J. Daniel Mindling, OFM Cap., 2009
(en Español)