"EMBRYO REDUCTION CONSTITUTES SELECTIVE ABORTION"

VATICAN CITY, JUL 13, 2000 (VIS) - "The Pontifical Council for the Family, having been asked to express its position on the so-called 'embryo reduction', and after having consulted with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith," published a declaration today. Dated July 12, it is written in Italian and signed by Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo and Bishop Francisco Gil Hellin, respectively council president and secretary. Following are excerpts:

"Currently, cases of multiple pregnancies, that is, when the maternal womb is shared by several embryos, have become rarer. Such cases usually occur because of ovary stimulation in the case of infertility or because of recourse to artificial insemination, on which the Magisterium has already pronounced itself (Congr. Doct. Faith, Instr. 'Donum vitae', II). ... What must be underlined, however, is the responsibility of those doctors who, ... applying the techniques of artificial insemination, cause situations that put at risk the life of the mother and of the children which have been conceived."

"As to multiple pregnancies, some state that, together, they cannot reach their term, either for the spontaneous death of several embryos in the uterus, or because of the premature birth of fetuses without hope of life. They add that, if the unborn all survive up to the delivery, the obstetric difficulty (and the consequent danger for the mother) is greater. On this basis the conclusion was reached that the selection and elimination of several embryos to save the others, or at least one of them, would be justified. And it was for this reason that the technique known as 'embryo reduction' was introduced.
"In this regard it is necessary to underscore the following: since every embryo must be considered and treated as a human person in respect for their eminent dignity (Cong. Doct. Faith, Instr. 'Donum vitae, I 1), the basic human rights of the unborn, in the first place, the right to life, which cannot be violated in any way, must be recognized from the first moment of conception. Beyond any confusion and ambiguity, it must be stated that 'embryo reduction' constitutes a selective abortion: it consists, in fact, of direct and voluntary elimination of an innocent human being (John Paul II, Enc. 'Evangelium vitae', 57). Therefore, whether this is used as an ends or as a means, it always constitutes a grave moral disorder (John Paul II, Enc. 'Evangelium vitae', 62). ... The illicitness of such behavior is a valid norm for everyone, even for non-believers (John Paul II, Enc. 'Evangelium vitae', 101). This moral prohibition remains even in those cases where continuing the pregnancy constitutes a serious risk for the life or health of the mother and the other (unborn) brothers/sisters."

"Embryo selection, involving the voluntary elimination of a human life, can never be justified, neither on the basis of a so-called lesser evil, nor on the basis of the double effect: neither one nor the other can be applied in this case."

"May the Lord of life ... guide ... those who are at the service of life to do everything possible to save the mother and children. ... What is certain is that, if it is part of human limitation to sometimes have to assist powerless at the premature death of innocent creatures, it is never morally licit to cause death voluntarily."

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