Catholic view
The attitude of the Roman Catholic Church towards infertility treatment is different. The Catholic’s ban any form of embryo technology, and they are strongly opposed to IVF, AIH and AID. The Catholics believe that IVF involves fertilisation of some eggs that are not used in the treatment, and are either destroyed or used for scientific experimentation. This is just like having an abortion. “Masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action.” The Catholic’s are also against surrogacy because it involves male masturbation, and this has always been regarded by the Catholic Church as a grave moral sin.
Jewish view
The Jews believe that IVF and AIH treatments for infertility do not cause any problems for Jews. Some are also prepared to accept AID treatment as well, but the majority of Jews do not. Family life is very important within the Jewish Community, so being infertile is a source of great sadness. “Whoever adds even one Jewish soul is considered as having created an entire world.” This is a quote taken from …Moses Maimonides, Twelfth-Century Jewish thinker. Although infertility treatment doesn’t cause any problems, the Jews are unhappy about AID, as they see it as a form of adultery, and that is strictly against the Ten Commandments.
In conclusion, I have found that infertility has many solutions, but they can cause problems in different religions.
Transplant Surgery is where humans have their organs taken out of their body, and put into another. There are two types of Transplant Surgery, these are:
- Transplants from a donor that is alive
- Transplants from a donor that has died
Transplants in which the donor is living
A live donor transplant is where a person that is alive has surgery to get an organ removed from their body, and put into another person’s body that is in desperate need of that organ. Having a live transplant limits the organs the person can donate. There are only two things a live donor can donate because they can just live on one of the two organs. These are the kidneys and a bone marrow transplant. To be successful when donating an organ, there must be a perfect match between recipient and donor. In the UK, it is illegal for someone to be paid to donate a kidney, although this sometimes happens in many Third World countries.
Transplants in which the donor has died
This may take place after someone dies in a car accident. Many people carry donor cards giving permission for their organs to be used in the case of a sudden unexpected death. When having the transplant, they take an organ from the dead person’s body, and put it into the ill person’s body. It is now possible to transplant at least 25 different organs and tissues, including bone and cartilage tissue, kidney, pancreas, heart, lung, cornea and liver. When first introduced, people objected to the idea of having a dead person’s donation, but now it happens a lot more than live donations and is now a routine. The organ must be removed very soon after death and presents close relatives with a difficult emotional decision.
Genetic engineering is where they take a human embryo, and they do research on it to try and find different cures for different illnesses. In my opinion I think it’s good that they can research embryos as it can help scientists discover new cures and it can also cure people when they are ill. There are also two religious opinions on genetic engineering. These are:
Protestant viewpoint
Roman Catholic viewpoint
The protestant viewpoint
Protestants (Church of England and the Methodist church) do not object to research being carried out on human embryos, as long as it is properly controlled and is only performed on embryos less than 14 days old. (Present UK law.)
The Roman Catholic viewpoint
Some Roman Catholics are totally opposed to genetic engineering. They believe that it is the genetic makeup of a person that gives them their unique identity – an identity that is god given. Any interference with this amounts to interference with Gods plan. They don’t even agree with it if people are suffering, because they believe that suffering is a valuable lesson.
I agree with the Protestants as I think it is right to research human embryos, because at the end of the day it is going to help a lot of ill people with different illnesses. If you didn’t do any research on human embryos, there wouldn’t be as many cures for illnesses around these days and people would never get the cures they need. God made us all individuals, so I think that we should believe in what we want, and not what we are told. I also think that if researching embryos save people, then it is a good thing to use as you are saving not only one, but many people around the world.
Overall I think that if people want to have infertility treatment, then people should let them and respect their choice, as after all it is their life and if they want children, then they should have the treatments.
