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Technology and
Pregnancy Enhancement
Stanley J. Grenz
Technological Assistance and the Christian
In the second half of the twentieth century medical science has responded
1 0
the problem of infertility with several technological procedures aimed at
enhancing the prospects of conception for barren couples. Yet each proce
dure developed in recent years has been the object of heated debate not only
in society as a whole but also within the church. Before looking at several of
ihese procedures a more basic question must be addressed: the propriety of
employing any technological means to enhance possibilities of pregnancy.
a.
The rejection of
all
technological assistance.
Opposition in principle to
lechnological procedures in the area of procreation has been voiced from
diverse sources within the Christian community.
The most often cited of these objections focus on the relationship between
sexual intercourse and procreation. Some critics argue that technological pro
cedures ought not to be employed, because through such means human
beings—e.g., doctors and the married couple—take to themselves God’s pre
rogative
in conception. Others claim that these procedures constitute an
unwarranted intrusion of science into the realm of nature. But the most basic
formulation of the argument reasons that such processes separate sexual inter
course and procreation, the joining of which are the intent of the Creator.
Perhaps the most lucid assertion of this argument has been offered by the
Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic position on the latest technological
advancements was outlined in the 1987 Vatican statement on human repro
duction,
Donum vitae
. 1Although the document’s specific subject is artificial
1. T h e Cong rega t ion lor the Doc t r ine of the Fai th, “ Ins t ruc t ion on Respec t for H um a n
I ile in its Or igin and on the Digni ty of Procrea t ion: Repl ies to Ce r ta in Ques t ions o f the Day”
(Vat ican Ci ty, Feb. 22, !<>K7), l ’art
II,
F l a .
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