Re: Trouble in Vatican: Pontifical Academy members upset with ethics deficit at infertility conference

[Guest guest]

Thank you for sending this. If you go to the actual site you can hear some audio and see a short video. The 2006 meta-analysis is there too. It is interesting to hear the audience disagreement in the background when one speaker tries to describe "IVF" as natural and states it is just a question of semantics. The audience didn't buy it.Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone Re: Trouble in Vatican: Pontifical Academy members upset with ethics deficit at infertility conference Darcy,I am very sad to read this, and will try to find out more about it. Bishop Carrasco taught me when I studied at the Holy Cross in Rome. It is hard to think that he would agree with those who endorsed IVF at the meeting. I will send him an article which I wrote for the next issue of Linacre Quarterly looking at IVF and NaProTechnology. Reading the news report which you sent reminds me of the need to advise those work at the Holy See.Continue to work hard and to make the truth known,Fr.  I can't believe these guys are still getting way with this:>> At least three of the four morning speakers, according to witnesses,> referred to IVF as an appropriate option for some female sufferers of> infertility.>> BY Kathleen Gilbert>> VATICAN CITY, February 27, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A gathering of the> Vatican’s own academy for promoting respect for life was met with palpable> discontent from its own members and other registrants after presenters on> the topic of infertility alluded to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other> artificial reproduction technologies as “natural†and legitimate for> treating patients, despite their conflict with Catholic moral teaching.>> In addition, one prominent Catholic doctor who noted the link between the> birth control pill and breast cancer was told by the moderator that his> claim was false.>> The Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV) on Friday took up the topic of> managing infertility at its 18th General Assembly.>> A press packet included an interview with PAV President Bishop Ignacio> Carrasco de a emphasizing the Assembly would not be “dealing with> ethical considerations of artificial fertilization†because “that’s a> different subjectâ€. The bishop, who in 2010 publicly criticized the> awarding of a Nobel prize to a pioneer of in vitro fertilization, said that> the February 24 Vatican workshop’s concern was to utilize a “rigorously> medical and scientific†approach to divulge insufficiently known methods> of fertility treatment to couples.>> While some attendees said much of the conference offered helpful insights> into the causes of infertility, such as delaying pregnancy and environmental> factors, and presented some excellent new research on treating infertility> causes,  the majority of speakers also discussed such procedures as IVF and> intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) as viable alternatives for couples> having difficulty conceiving. The speakers were selected by the PAV> leadership.>> At least three of the four morning speakers, according to witnesses,> referred to IVF as an appropriate option for some female sufferers of> infertility. And although witnesses say moderators distanced the PAV’s> views from the presenters’, the assurance fell short for audience members> who gave vent to frustration during the day.>> During the lunch break, one prominent member told LifeSiteNews that the> morning sessions were “the best case you get for amoral science.â€> Another called the conference “a disaster†and another “a tragedyâ€.>> In the afternoon session, Eberhard Nieschlag of the Center for Reproductive> Medicine and Andrology at the University of Münster noted that artificial> insemination “can be tried if there are not enough sperm†and, after> showing a video of a needle forcing a sperm into a human egg, described the> process as “not really artificial.â€>> Pressed on the point by an audience member during a later Q & A (see audio> file below), Nieschlag defended the remark by saying that “the actual> fertilization process is completely natural.†“The way to bring the> sperm and the egg together [is artificial] but the fertilization is not> artificial,†he said. “That’s what I mean. But I think it’s mainly a> semantic problem.â€>> Listen to brief audio of notable excerpts from Q & A session at the end of> the conference:>>>> Hosted by kiwi6.com file hosting.> Download mp3 - Free File Hosting.>>> The audience responded to the last remark with a growing clamor, including> some rapping on their chairs in protest.>> “I think from the audience’s reaction it’s clearly not,†chairperson> Prof. Angelique Goverde interjected, adding that she would not enter “a> theoretical or philosophical or religious debate†but the audience> response indicated “we have a different point of view in this concern.â€>> The teaching authority of the Catholic Church has stated that artificial> reproduction is morally objectionable, not only because techniques such as> IVF regularly dispose of human embryos and “reduce†multiple pregnancies> with abortions, but because children have a right to be conceived naturally> in the marital act and not as a consumer product.>> On its website, the PAV describes itself as existing “for the promotion> and defense of human life, especially regarding bioethics as it regards> Christian morality.â€>> Another conflict arose after several audience members challenged the morning> speakers for emphasizing beneficial effects of the hormonal birth control> pill on women’s health, to the exclusion of its detriments. > Hilgers, Director of the National Center for Women’s Health at the Pope> VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction, took to the> microphone to point out that this tack fell in line with “a major> marketing component of the oral contraceptive for the last ten years.â€>> “They’ll raise things like, once raised this morning, that you can cut> the ovarian cancer rate in half [by taking oral contraceptives]. Well> that’s good, but what if you increase the breast cancer rate in the> process, or the cervical cancer rate?†he said. “It’s given as a> health benefit without looking at the health implications, and that’s an> unbalanced view, but it’s being sold that way, and it’s on purpose.â€>> Chairperson Goverde interjected asserting to the contrary that oral> contraceptives did not increase the breast cancer risk but did agree that it> increased the cervical cancer risk. Hilgers interjected to refer Goverde to> a 2006 meta-analysis by the Mayo clinic showing the pill’s clear link to> breast cancer. Hilgers later pointed to Ortho Tri-Cyclen’s own> documentation showing the breast cancer link.>>> IVF industry eclipses real science: expert>> Hilgers’ half-hour talk outlined the significant success of NaPro> technology, a cost-effective method for discovering and treating underlying> causes of infertility, and one that is not “built on a foundation of> destroying life.†However, he said, these gains have been largely eclipsed> by the IVF industry, particularly in the United States: had it not been for> the race to create children artificially, said Hilgers, “we probably would> have had a cure for infertility by now.â€>> The NaPro expert’s presentation that was fully in line with Catholic moral> ethics was met with sustained applause far exceeding that given for any of> the other speakers of the day.>> In later remarks to LSN, the doctor expressed concern that the crowding-out> of real infertility treatment by the IVF mindset was reflected at the> conference itself.>> Hilgers, a member of the PAV since 1994 and an international leader in his> field, said the science of the day’s speakers “wasn’t good at allâ€> and named several experts who could have offered insights into authentic> fertility treatment, but said the conference didn’t approach him for> suggested names. According to the PAV website, topics and speakers are> chosen from a pool of submitted professional papers by a Governing Council> currently composed of four lay experts and four clerics who include the> President and Chancellor or the PAV.>> Not all PAV conferences have been so controversial: Hilgers pointed out that> last year’s conference on the psychological effects of abortion featured> “really good†experts and information. However, he said, like a similar> fertility conference by the academy over a decade ago, Friday’s was> problematic for featuring “one IVF person after another.â€>> “[This year’s conference was] a huge disservice to Catholics everywhere> for the Pontifical Academy for Life, which is the major Catholic pro-life> organization you could say, to come into formal cooperation with a group of> people who are diametrically opposed to the Church’s teaching,†he said.>>> Others told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) that at a follow-up meeting Saturday> morning for official members, several members expressed their discontent> regarding the selection of speakers and the lack of ethical context> throughout most of the day. One PAV member called it a “pile-onâ€. It was> said that more wanted to express similar comments but were not recognized by> the PAV leadership.>>> ‘The arrogance of taking the place of the Creator’>> The following morning, the speakers, PAV members, and others at the> conference attended a special PAV audience with Pope Benedict XVI in the> Apostolic Palace.>> In contrast to the conference’s avoidance of Catholic ethical concerns, a> notably subdued pontiff emphasized the moral roots of reproduction in the> conjugal act and warned against the fertility industry’s lure of “easy> income, or even worse, the arrogance of taking the place of the Creator,â€> quoting his own words from 2008. “The human and Christian dignity of> procreation, in fact, doesn’t consist in a ‘product’, but in its link> to the conjugal act, an expression of the love of the spouses of their> union, not only biological but also spiritual,†said Benedict.>> The pope also warned that the “indifference of conscience to what is true> and good represents a dangerous threat to genuine scientific progress,†as> “scientism and the logic of profit†now dominate the field “to the> point of limiting many other areas of research.â€>> “The humility and precision with which you study these issues, considered> obsolete by some of your colleagues before the allure of the technology of> artificial insemination, deserves encouragement and support,†he said.>> One member said the pope’s remarks were a saving grace for the troubled> conference.>> “If it weren’t for the pope’s speech, the conference would have been a> devastating blow to truth,†the member said.>>> Contact information:>> pav@...>> See list of staff and members of PAV>>>> http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trouble-in-vatican-pontifical-academy-members-upset-with-ethics-deficit-at/------------------------------------