Avant-propos - Studia Moralia

138 JOHN BERKMAN
infants and children whose parents are for whatever reason
unable to raise them is not questioned. 41 Furthermore, the willingness
of couples (or in some cases single persons) to open
their hearts and homes through adoption to needy children is a
great gift of Christian charity. While all persons of good will are
able to see the great good in adopting needy children, the call to
care for orphans will be particularly compelling to Christians, as
part of their response to Christ’s call to care “for the least of
these.”
Likewise, reflection on the morality of adopting orphaned
embryos must begin with the duty to care for “the least of these.”
Abandoned frozen embryos do indeed qualify as being some of
the most vulnerable and needy of human beings: “It is therefore
not in conformity with the moral law deliberately to expose to
death human embryos obtained ‘in vitro’.” 42 If the embryo is a
human being as worthy of care and protection as any other
human being, then the good involved in the rescue and adoption
of such orphaned embryos make such adoption at least a prima
facie good thing to do.
However frozen embryos have come to be, the fundamental
principle for evaluating the appropriateness of adopting them is
that of the dignity of and protection to be given to innocent
human life. Furthermore, Christians witness to this dignity most
powerfully by promoting the dignity of the most marginalized
and vulnerable in our society. Orphans, whether post-natal or
41 Of course, this is not to deny those particular instances of adoption or
certain kinds of adoption (e.g. some international or inter-racial adoptions)
which have been questioned morally. These questions are usually raised
because of concerns of perceived and/or actual injustices done to the birth
parent(s) and/or child. That such concerns should arise is not at all surprising
considering that the very necessity of adoption arises from a pre-existing
evil (i.e. that the child cannot be raised by its birth parents, either because
of some tragedy (i.e. death, disability, etc.), or because of irresponsibility, or
by due consideration of the best interests of the child).
42 DV, I, 5. While this sentence from DV is also directed specifically
towards embryos created for research purposes, it is merely an elaboration
of the principles outlined in DV I, 1 on the respect due to the human life,
namely, that “Human life must be absolutely respected and protected from
the moment of conception.”