Christianity and assisted reproductive technologies: the search for moral and ethical foundations

The problems of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) continue to be the subject of both medical, philosophical and ethical, and theological discussions among representatives of different faiths. ART allow us to bring into this world those who are without the help of the latest technologies could not be among us in the situation when the natural way of coming is impossible. But for this medicine uses methods that are alien to the nature of the living and the nature of man as a biological species, in particular. And it should be noted that it is the moral and ethical norms rooted in the religious worldview that are under the greatest pressure from the constantly growing flow of changes in all spheres of life caused by the accelerating scientific and technical progress and especially by the rapid development of biotechnology and especially ART. We can single out the following problems of ART, which, one way or another, consider all confessions. These include, above all, an excess of the resulting embryos; surrogacy; interference with the «fate» of embryos using preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD); insufficient responsibility of medical staff and, as a result, the problem of «authenticity» of genetic material of patients using ART; the use of ART for single women and men, as well as transgender and non-binary people, etc.

assisted reproductive technologies (ART), Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism, human embryo, surrogate motherhood, donation, artificial insemination, extracorporeal fertilization, Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), The Basics of the Social Concept of the ROC