The complexities of navigating healthcare treatments within an ethical framework are especially challenging in New Zealand, where secular providers may not align with Catholic ethical principles. The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, issued by the USCCB, address these challenges, offering guidance for healthcare professionals, patients, and families.
Tag: ivf
Pope Francis: “We need to discover the beauty of human sexuality”
Pope Francis recently affirmed Catholic teaching regarding fruitful love between spouses. The affirmation came in a message for participants of the WOOMB International Congress, held at the University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, at the end of April. In…
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Remembering our little ones who have died not yet born
People gathered throughout New Zealand on Friday night for Masses of Remembrance and a Vigil for Life. Held in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin, the Masses were poignant reminders of the tragic loss of life and pain people experience because of…
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The tragedy of “surplus” embryos
A tragedy is about to unfold in New Zealand history. Almost 2,000 embryos, lives suspended through cyropreservation, have a final date of existence. They must be destroyed within six months of November 22nd. Each of these embryos were created at…
Calling embryos “reproductive material” is degrading
The deadline for frozen embryos and reproductive tissue (gametes) which have been stored for ten years is fast coming up. The embryos and gametes must be destroyed within six months of November 22nd unless special permission to extend the storage…
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New Zealand’s first “saviour sibling”
For the first time in New Zealand a family has been granted permission to carry a baby to term which has been grown with the specific intention of saving an older sick sibling. Permission for such procedures must be granted…
The real cost of IVF in New Zealand: human life
Fertility Associates, New Zealand's largest fertility clinic, is currently celebrating the birth of baby 15,000 through their reproductive technology services. At the same time, they have unveiled a new technique to help in the selection of 'healthy' embryos to implant.…
Surrogacy
The story of baby Gammy's abandonment by his biological parents for having Down syndrome has opened up a wide discussion around surrogacy. As the days go on, more information is being revealed about the biological parents of the 7 month…
Be Fruitful and Multiply
"God blessed them, saying to them, 'Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it.'" (Genesis 1:28) This is a command that most married couples wish to fulfill. For the majority, procreation happens with relative ease. Some fall pregnant easily,…
A World Gone Mad!
We live in a world gone mad! A world where everything and anything we want is our right to obtain. (Unless of course what you want is moral, then you have to fight for that right). Nowhere is this ideology…