LIFE FOR DEATH
Fr. IRENEUSZ SKUBIŚ
In the statement of the prime minister Donald Tusk on 22 October 2012 I heard that the country, allegedly going out towards unlucky married couples – not only those formal ones – is going to support financially the procedure of in vitro fertilization. The program is to be implemented for 3 years and include 15 thousand couples. Just during the liturgical reminiscence of blessed John Paul II who fought for human life, who devoted so many documents to life and its rescuing, Poles received this pseudo-gift – certainly, without any social consultation, although our money is intended for this purpose.
But – let’s get to the merits. What is the in vitro method? First of all, it is not a way of treating infertility, as the prime minister presented it. The in vitro method is laboratory transplanting of the human fetus produced to live in a woman in whose womb it is going to develop till a human being is born. In fact this method is not perfect. In every case, by the way of creating one human being many other human embryos are killed.
According to the Christian moral concept, every human fetus is the human being because nothing else is created from the human cell but only the human being – with his senses, consciousness, genetic code. Every human being, also the one in the form of a cell, was gifted by God with the immortal soul. The full human being is created so, both in the physical and spiritual aspect, as well as the supernatural one. And here is the basic reason that the Church cannot acknowledge the destruction of human fetuses as a moral thing – as it is simply killing people. The fact that they are still in the embryo state does not mean that they are not people. The Church sees them as human beings but also other people – lets note how a young mother is happy when she finds out that she is pregnant; today she also finds out quickly that this small fetus under her heart is her son or daughter. Her family are also happy about the new member of the family, sharing their joy with others. It is human joy, joy coming from normal functioning of the human body, the whole human biology.
But the world gives the man a new proposal, so beautifully and innocently called – ‘in vitro’. Journalists say about it with euphoria, being delighted that in a laboratory human fertilization can be done. As if they did not see the difference between laboratory conditions from the natural relation of love between a man and a woman, father and mother in the future.
The fight about in vitro is still going on till today, it has money in its background. The treatment is expensive, done in private clinics. Almost an industry is appearing which is explaining the fertilization method in vitro as happiness of infertile married couples – although on the other hand the fight about broadening the acceptability of abortion!
Many fathers and mothers who have a child through the in vitro method, are happy that the child is and – thanks to God! – healthy. However, one must ask a question whether they are aware that on this occasion the life of brothers or sister of the living child was destroyed or given to freezing. Is it good? Can one squander the human life? Can one have such an attitude towards the human being? After all, it entails the whole range of other problems, to which one must find an answer and solution. These are also legal problems which must also refer to many kinds of abuse in this area. In many laboratories in the world today various mallard are done, also with the type of animal gene. There are drastic situations and cruelties. How to convince people that only life in accordance with nature gives the man a real happiness…
So, the Church, placed on the guard of God’s commandments, promoting the civilization of life, proclaiming the philosophy of love, today meets with a kind of extreme rudeness from the atheistic man, engaged in gaining big money and changing the consciousness of people. No matter what doctors say: that children born via the in vitro method are weaker, often burdened by genetic defects, that the method of the conception of them favors their births in the partner relations, generally the unnatural ones for a child etc. Deliberately there is no information about it because it is against the interests of in vitro lobby. But we must know about it.
But there are better, natural methods of treatment – I emphasize: treatment of – infertility, among the others the natural procreative method more and more accessible, thanks to which many married couples were able to realize their parenting. Not to say about the fact that motherhood and fatherhood can be realized in many other ways. We are shocked that the Polish prime minister proposes the Catholics – after all we are a Catholic country in a definite majority we are the Catholics – a non-moral method, contradictive with the outlined Magisterium of the Church, giving the money of tax-payers for this purpose – money of believing people and that he wants to omit the formal procedure, that is, the Seym where first an act regulating this problem should be created. Certainly, after many debates of the representatives of various political parties. It is concluded from the last social discussion on this issue that also in the consciousness of the parliamentarians, the Civic Platform sees a kind of resistance towards immoral methods proposed by some groups. It may be so that the prime minister has realized that his offer might not be passed by the Seym and he wants to replace the Seym procedure with the regulation. We should not allow for giving millions zlotys for these purposes, when Polish hospitals and health care service are suffering from inefficiency. For example, in Częstochowa there is a problem with doing medical check-ups with the Holter method among children and to have the medical check-ups done children have to go to Cracow or the Silesia. Why our money cannot be given for this purpose, so that ill people would not die, because it takes a patient several months to have a visit to a specialist. Therefore we oppose this policy – the policy of a kind of self-determination, without considering the work of the parliament, the voice of the Church and Polish Catholics.
Let’s ask God through blessed John Paul II, to open the hearts and minds of Poles – also those who are holding authority – so that no unsuitable regulations would be created.
(AA)
"Niedziela" 45/2012