WASHINGTON – “As pastors, we see the suffering of so many couples experiencing infertility and know their deep desire to have children is both good and admirable; yet the Administration’s push for in vitro fertilization (IVF), which ends countless human lives and treats persons like property, cannot be the answer,” reflected Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee (USCCB) on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop Robert E. Barron, chairman of the Committee for Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for policies to make IVF less costly and more available.

“The IVF industry treats human beings like products and freezes or kills millions of children who are not selected for transfer to a womb or do not survive. Tuesday’s executive order promoting IVF is thus fatally flawed and stands in regrettable contrast to the promising pro-life actions of the Administration last month.

“Every human person is a precious gift with infinite dignity and worth, no matter how that person was conceived. People born as a result of IVF have no less dignity than anyone else. It is our moral responsibility to uphold the dignity of their brothers and sisters who are never given the chance to be born.

“For the sake of couples trying to bring precious new life into the world, we look forward to working with the Administration to expand support for restorative reproductive medicine that can help ethically treat often-overlooked root causes of infertility. However, we will strongly oppose any policy that expands destruction of human life, or forces others to subsidize the cost.”

For more on assisted reproductive technology, including in vitro fertilization, please see: https://www.usccb.org/prolife/reproductive-technology. And for more on infertility, including ethical restorative reproductive medicine, and research, please see: https://www.usccb.org/topics/natural-family-planning/infertility.