Vatican Issues Updated Prohibtions on Reproductive Technologies

Nothing much new here, but the document, Dignitas Personae, according to Reuters, has ruled the following reproductive techniques as immoral:

—in vitro fertilization.

— research in and use of embryonic stem cells.

— post-fertilization birth control methods such as morning after pills, the so-called abortion pill RU-486 (mifepristone) and the inter-uterine device (IUD).

— surrogate motherhood.

— human cloning, both reproductive and therapeutic.

— hybrid cloning using animal oocytes (immature female germ cells) to reprogram the nuclei of human somatic cells.

— freezing embryos or oocytes for use in artificial fertilization.

— pre-implantation diagnosis of embryos to avoid genetic defects or select for gender or other qualities.

— reduction of implanted embryos to prevent multiple births.

— intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) to overcome male fertility problems.

— germ line cell therapy to modify genes transmitted to offspring.

— genetic enhancement for purposes other than medical treatment.

— use of human biological material of illicit origin, such as experimentation on human embryos.

Reuters also reports:

Saying life was sacred from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death, the document also defended the Roman Catholic Church's right to intervene on such matters.

Intervene? The church as the right to try to intervene, and others have the right to prevent its intervention.