About the moral aspects of artificially inseminating a woman

A medical clinic in Los Angeles, in the United States of America, which specializes in the industry of artificial insemination, declared for future parents the possibility to choose the sex of the child, as also some certain aesthetical qualities: color of eyes, hair, and so on. Msgr. Elio Sgreccia, president emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life, commented on this event for Radio Vatican, noting that these are not the first such reports which aim only to increase the amount of clients. He also noted that in our time in clinics of such a type is conducted the selection of embryos, leaving healthy embryos, but killing those embryos in which are found some pathologies, in particular, with inherited illnesses. And, according to the announcement of the Los Angeles clinic, a way is now opened for other biotechnologies which will allow parents to satisfy also their aesthetic tastes. Msgr. Elio Sgreccia noted that, in any case, as the question is about the manipulation of the human body, such interference is ethically improper, it offends the dignity of the unborn child, the embryo. Thus, as it is not allowed to kill children (embryos) in whom defects have been found, similarly not allowed is the selection of a child according to the tastes of the parents. As Msgr. Elio noted, this is a typical example of science which is at the service not of good but evil. Manipulations of this kind are an impermissible interference in God’s work of the creation of man, and display a desire to rule human life. And, unfortunately, very often such unmoral initiatives have no proper reaction at the state level. www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/ucr/Articolo.asp