Multiplication Tables
No one can accuse Mandolyna Theodoracopulos of not being provocative, and I read her recent post “Jon and Kate Plus Hate” with interest. I entirely agree with her criticisms of in vitro fertilization, and indeed would go well beyond them: Just because science allows us to do something does not mean that we should, and one does not have to accept (as I do) the Catholic Church’s teaching on sexual morality to recognize that there are sound reasons for believing that procreation should not be separated from the sexual act itself.
Of course, we should note that, unlike the “Octomom” whom Mandolyna rightly excoriates, the Gosselins did not engage in in vitro fertilization but in fertility treatments, which resulted in the release of multiple eggs, with their subsequent fertilization through entirely natural means. The only way to “select” a single embryo, then, would have been through the abortion of the other five.
Read the rest of the article here.
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I couldn't agree with Mr. Richter more (and I have it on the highest authority):
Mark 10:13-16,
13. And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.
14. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
15. Verily, I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
16. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.
By the way, I am surprised they still allow Mr. Richter to post on Taki with the assorted alternative Rightists and Death Metal aficianados.
A simply outstanding piece. Bravo, Scott!
As they say, walking the walk and talking the talk. I came from a family of eight children, had two with my wife. I now wish we had more, for their sake more than ours.
Well done, Scott.
If you're a parent, everything you do is wrong. Then they turn 28 or so, and you're not so bad.
You are indeed blessed.
Let's hope Mandolyna heeds your words, finds a good husband, and has a lot of kids.
Very well done Scott!
Mr. Richert, you honor your family and us with this writing! I emailed this article to my fiancee who appreciated it very much as well. Any advice from the experienced for a guy soon to be married?
Congrats! This is probably the best article I've ever read here. (My wife is one of 15 children.)
Thanks, everyone, for the kind words.
Mr. McCabe, probably the last thing I'd ever want to do is be an advice columnist. That said, I'll offer two thoughts that have been useful to me over the years.
The first is to remember that love is an act of the will, not an emotion, properly speaking. C.S. Lewis made a distinction between loving someone and being in love with someone, which roughly corresponds to the traditional distinction between the love of friendship (loving someone for her sake) and the love of concupiscence (loving someone for your own sake). The higher form of love is an act of the will that continues even when you're not feeling particularly "in love" with your spouse.
The second piece of advice is that you should never, ever, under any circumstances tell your fiancé or wife that you will always love her even at those times when you aren't feeling particularly "in love" with her. Women don't seem to care much for this intellectual distinction, and, more importantly, they have long memories.
Lo, children are a heritage of the LORD:
and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man;
so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:
they shall not be ashamed,
but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
-- Psalm 127:3-5
Mr. Richert, thanks for the good advice. (I wouldn't want you to be an advice columnist either.)
I had to read your second point a couple times to understand what you meant and to realize it was as funny as it was important in practice.
Fertility treatment, specifically inducing ovulation, is not intrinsically evil, conceded. An outcome that results in 6 babies being conceived at once is inherently reckless though and a violation of prudence. As such, the act was likely sinful and perhaps even gravely so. Regrettably, this will become more prevalent as women continue to forgo marriage during their most fertile years and find themselves desperate.
I'm glad m.z. raised this point. In writing the piece, I had begun a paragraph on fertility treatments and adoption, and finally scrapped it because it was distracting from the main point I wished to make.
As the father of eight, I obviously understand the desire to conceive children who belong to both spouses genetically. And while, as m.z. points out, fertility treatments are not intrinsically evil, there are different types, which are more or less likely to result in multiple ovulations. I think that some measure of caution is in order in choosing fertility treatments, and I think that those who find themselves unable to conceive should consider seriously the possibility of adoption.
The Gosselins had already conceived twins through fertility treatments; continuing with such treatments may not have been, as m.z. believes, gravely sinful, but it was, in their case, a deliberate eschewing of adoption. (They had the opportunity to adopt a child but decided not to.)
All of that said, once the children were conceived, their chosen course—bringing them to term—was the only moral one, even if m.z. is right (and I doubt that he would disagree).
I know In Vitro is condemned but what is the Roman Catholic church teaching on other fertility treatments?
Bravo! An excellent piece and one with which I concur 100%. You are a true revolutionary in our sick world: a father of a large Catholic family.
Derek, fertility treatments that do not separate the procreative and unitive aspects of sex are licit. Thus, hormonal therapy and surgical procedures to unblock fallopian tubes (for instance) are fine; turkey basters are not.
M.Z.'s point, though, is well taken. Even licit treatments can have morally troublesome aspects—if, for instance, a particular hormonal therapy has a high incidence of multiple conceptions attached to it, which might put the lives of the children and the mother at risk.
Yes, we are agreed that once conceived they needed to be birthed. The amount of joy to be offered for this choice is much like the dilemma faced with addressing a teenager coming to term with her pregnancy. I think we have gone overboard in celebrating life and ignoring the real consequences of our actions. Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston's reception at the Republican convention exemplifies this as does their rather public dispute in the aftermath of the election exemplify the real problems of teenage pregnancy and unwed birth. More broadly, we have a real need for social writing addressing the problem of prudence suggesting today that women forgo pregnancy until such time as their fertility is greatly diminished. Concurrent with this is addressing the failure of social institutions to provide the support necessary for family formation and thriving in the late teens and early twenties. While this doesn't necessary require government intervention, I don't think we can preclude it.
Derek,
The guiding principle is, "assist but not replace [the conjugal act]." If you want to look into the matter further, you might begin with the encyclical DONUM VITAE.
Excellent piece, Scott.
Mr. Richert and Captain Check, thanks for your input regarding fertility treatments. I think many Catholics are confused about Church teachings with regards to fertility treatments.
Scott Richert's piece was very excellent. My wife, Amy, mother of our six children, enjoyed it immensely when she read it this past weekend between changes of diapers and washing of clothes.
Congratulations to Amy and Scott Richert on their joyous news.
Right up to your final line, M.Z., I agree with all you wrote in #20. I think the problem with government intervention is that, by the time we get there, we've already missed the boat. Such policies, even with the best of intentions, too easily become separate from the real problems they are attempting to address.
I second Chris's recommendation of Donum Vitae, a serious attempt to grapple with the problems raised by scientific manipulation of fertility. The document explains perhaps better than any other how such technologies as in vitro fertilization can lead us to situations in which there is no acceptable moral action. For that reason, some Catholic pro-lifers who were pushing the idea of "snowflake babies" (implanting "excess" embryos in the wombs of women unrelated to the child) were very unhappy with the document. But the moral reasoning is sound: We cannot engage in an intrinsically immoral action even with the best of intentions.
And thanks, Chris and Derek, for the kind words.
Writers in Chronicles have said we should have as many children as you can afford. Money can be saved by forgoing college educations. Somebody has to insure that Anglo-Saxon culture triumphs over the multi-culti soup we are forced to tolerate.
@2 Theodore
Some metal has pretty radical lyrics. Much of it is decent poetry set to bad music -- lots of minor seconds. Punk rock brought down soviet socialism in Poland every bit as much as much as Solidarity did. And the Sex Pistols' dissatisfied screeds put Thatcher into the Prime Ministership of UK.
Hello Scott, great piece and great family! It was a pleasure to be around you and your family this past summer. May you have a joy filled Advent season.
Deacon Woodcutter