Posthumous Conception And Church Teaching

Details: 08 February 2013

Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln introduced a legislative bill that demonstrates the moral quagmire that results when humans attempt to traverse into God’s domain as the Author of Life. The bill, LB 134, would allow a child conceived after his/her biological father’s death to be the father’s heir, and consequently qualify for survivor benefits.

Currently, Nebraska law allows a child conceived prior to the father’s death, but born after it to be counted as an heir. But the law is silent on how to treat, for inheritance purposes, a child conceived posthumously.

The bill was prompted by the experience of an Omaha couple. Prior to being treated for an aggressive form of cancer, the husband chose to bank his sperm to preserve it for later attempts to conceive. After being told that he was cancer-free, the couple began artificial insemination with the husband’s saved sperm.

Sadly, the husband’s cancer returned and he died several months later. His widow continued the fertility treatments and, a short time after his death, found out she was pregnant. After giving birth, the mother applied for Social Security survivor benefits for her daughter and was eventually denied by a decision of the Nebraska Supreme Court. The Court ruled that a child conceived after a biological father’s death does not "survive" the parent, and therefore is excluded from inheriting from the father’s estate under Nebraska law.

Obviously, any child conceived outside the natural, God-designed process is not at fault and should always be loved, cherished and afforded by civil law every right of human dignity given to children conceived as God intended. However, this bill is troubling as a matter of public policy because of the way it gives some legitimacy to the immoral acts of artificial insemination and the conception of children after the father has died.

This concern was further heightened by an amendment submitted by Sen. Avery during a public hearing on the bill. The amendment removes any reference to the biological father as a "husband," presumably to ensure that the bill’s impact is not limited to those who are married.

Although the policy considerations of LB 134 are complex, this bill presents a teaching moment regarding the Church’s moral objections to artificial insemination (AI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Certainly, any feeling person sympathizes with this couple (and others like them) and appreciates their natural and good desire to bring forth children from their marriage. But to be truly natural and good, this desire must accept that human sexuality and the human souls that are its fruit are gifts from our Creator; they are not rights that we possess and may use as we wish.

The Catholic Church teaches that AI and IVF are intrinsically evil acts because they violate God’s sacred design for human sexuality. For many Catholics this teaching may seem harsh and puzzling, especially since the Church urges married couples to be always open to bringing new life into the world. Obviously, I can’t do justice in a short column to the extraordinary treasure of the Church’s teaching on human sexuality, so my goal is to get your attention, pique your interest, and direct you to resources that can help you get a fuller understanding.

It is our Creator, the Author of Life, who determines the true nature and purpose of human sexuality and human life. We know from divine Revelation that in all God’s material creation He created human beings uniquely in His image and likeness (cf. Gen. 1:26). And through the mystery of the Incarnation, the Son of God, by becoming one of us, makes it possible for us to become "sons of God" (Jn 1:12), "sharers in the divine nature" (2 Pet 1:4).

In Dignitatas Personae, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith explains that "[t]hese two dimensions of life, the natural and the supernatural, allow us to understand better the sense in which the acts that permit a new human being to come into existence, in which a man and a woman give themselves to each other, are a reflection of trinitarian love. ‘God, who is love and life, has inscribed in man and woman the vocation to share in a special way in his mystery of personal communion and in his work as Creator and Father.’" (DP #9)

So we’re made in the image and likeness of a trinitarian God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and are called to imitate His trinitarian love. This love is often described as the Father and Son’s mutual giving of themselves so completely and unconditionally, both now and forever, that from this love flows another person—the Holy Spirit.

This model of love is the basis of the Church’s teaching about spousal love; that God intends His sacred gift of sexuality to be reserved for the two-fold purpose of uniting husbands and wives in one flesh in the life-long commitment of marriage (unitive) and the begetting and raising of children (procreation). The uniting of each other in the marital act is to be a total, unconditional gift of self (like the love of Father and Son) so that from this act of love flows another person.

Reproductive technologies like AI and IVF replace the marital act with a lab technique and thereby violate its unitive purpose. There are, however, other technologies that "assist" rather than "replace" the marital act and are deemed moral by the Church.

These natural procreative technologies (NaproTechnology) have been expertly developed and taught by Dr. Tom Hilgers and others at the Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha (popepaulvi.com). Through NaproTechnology, the Institute has had trememdous success in helping couples overcome infertility. To further study the Church’s teaching check out the online resources at nebcathcon.org or call my office.

You can contact Greg at The Nebraska Catholic Conference, 215 Centennial Mall South Suite 310, Lincoln, NE 68508; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.