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The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, 2020

NaProTechnology: A Medical Embodiment of the Catholic Perspective on an Infertile Couple’s Right to Family Planning

Renee Mirkes

Author affiliations
  • Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family ROR
Licensecopyrighted (journal scan; not open access)

Abstract

This article considers one question: How does the Catholic Church guide infertile couples to exercise their right to build a family? Part One examines the principal tenets of Catholic social teaching on human rights in general. Part Two focuses in particular on the Church’s guidelines regarding the right to family planning for infertile couples. And Part Three contrasts NaProTechnology protocols for infertility with in vitro fertilization and concludes that NaPro provides infertile couples not only a responsible means of conceiving a baby that remedies the injustice of in vitro fertilization but also a medical embodiment of the Church’s teaching on the right to family planning.

Topics

RRM Methods > NaProTECHNOLOGY > ProtocolEthics/Philosophy > Bioethics > Catholic TeachingEthics/Philosophy > RRM Philosophy > Clinical EthicsInfertility > Couple-Based > Counseling
naprotechnology catholic social teaching, infertile couples right family planning, napro versus ivf ethical comparison, restorative reproductive medicine bioethics, church teaching infertility treatment, catholic perspective assisted reproduction, napro protocols reproductive justice, alternatives to ivf catholic couples, moral approach fertility treatment, hilgers naprotechnology philosophy

Cite this article

Mirkes, R. (2020). NaProTechnology: A Medical Embodiment of the Catholic Perspective on an Infertile Couple’s Right to Family Planning.

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This landmark publication is in its second edition has been completely revised and updated to reflect recent developments in magisterial teaching and scientific research. More than thirty authors, who are experts in their fields, examine moral action theory, key ethical principles, ethics committees, the embryo and fetus, contraception, reproductive technologies, difficult pregnancies, rape protocols, the determination of death, palliative care, nutrition and hydration, the persistent vegetative state, do-not-resuscitate orders, health care proxies, organ donation, vaccination refusals, genetic medicine, human experimentation, religious freedom, triage, cooperation with evil, state mandates, organizational ethics, and other topics. Catholic Health Care Ethics is an ideal resource for classroom use in colleges and universities, as well as in nursing schools and by ethics committees in hospitals and other health care facilities.

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