Who Is My Mother and Who Are My Brothers

Abstract

On the Christian understanding, life comes from God and every one of us is created in the Imago Dei; the child must not be treated as a commodity. Designed to satisfy adult desires, reproductive technologies bypassing sexual intercourse have led to new kinds of family not previously envisaged. These new kinds of family raise questions about adult attitudes towards children. In support of the Roman Catholic magisterial view, it is argued that gametal donation is unacceptable, because the gametes exchanged are treated as commodities, and so indirectly the child is also treated as a commodity. IVF and husband insemination are, however, deemed acceptable, because what matters is not whether the child is conceived by an individual act of spousal intercourse, but whether it is conceived within a loving spousal relationship between a man and a woman and welcomed as a gift.