Avant-propos - Studia Moralia

THE MORALITY OF ADOPTING FROZEN EMBRYOS 119
human beings …. It is therefore not in conformity with the moral law
deliberately to expose to death human embryos obtained ‘in vitro’. 9
Through an evaluation of this section of DV, one thing
becomes clear. The actions and intentions being condemned in
this section are those of researchers who create, experiment on,
and destroy human embryos. There is no evidence that this section
is referring to the actions and intentions of persons who
wish to protect or aid already existing cryopreserved human
embryos.
Misunderstanding as to what DV claims “cannot be licitly
pursued” arises from confusion with regards to the meaning of
“spare” in the key sentence. Whereas Smith seems to assume
that “spare” refers to cryopreserved embryos that could be
implanted in a mother’s womb, this is not the meaning of
“spare” in DV. Although the first live birth from a cryopreserved
human embryo had occurred in Australia in 1984, thus three
years previously, DV is silent on the subject of the implantation
and gestation of cryopreserved embryos. In fact, DV gives no
indication that it recognizes that previously frozen embryos can
– in a technical sense – be successfully implanted and gestated. 10
By “spare” embryo DV is rather referring to embryos destined
not to be implanted into the womb of a woman. Since the
9 DV I, 5. Italics in original.
“Morum igitur honestati contraium est embryones humanos gignere ad
abutendum, scilicet ut efficiantur ‘materia biologica’, quae praesto sit ad
usum.
Modus, quo communiter fecundatio in vitro obtinetur, non sinit ut
omnes embryones in corpus mulieris transferantur; eorum nonnulli interficiuntur.
Quare Ecclesia, sicut abortum procuratum damnat, ita etiam prohibet,
ne vita harum humanarum creaturarum attentetur. Conscientiae officium
postulat, ut palam denuntietur peculiaris gravitas voluntariae interfectionis
embryonum humanorum, qui in vitro obenti sunt ad solum investigationis
finem… Hac agendi ratione investigator se in locum Dei substituit atque,
licet inconscius, se efficit dominum aliorum sortis, quippe qui arbitratu suo
decernat quis vivat et quis morte afficiatur, idemque creaturas humanas
interficiat, quae defensione carent…
Moralibus igitur normis contradicitur, si data opera embryones humani
in vitro producti morti exponuntur.”