Moral Dilemmas in Oncofertility: An Evaluation in Light of Bioethical Magisterium

Abstract

Marriage and family are major concerns of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. Marriage is one of the sacraments of the Catholic Church. The Catholic theology recognizes two ends of marriage: unitive and procreative. The intense desire to have children has engendered some people to have recourse to reproductive technology. The Catholic Church has produced documents to respond to the many moral questions stemming from the use of reproductive technologies. One such nascent reproductive technology to preserve fertility for cancer patients is oncofertility. Based on the bioethical magisterium produced by the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) – Donum vitae and Dignitas personae – I reflect on how these two documents would provide the direction on how the Catholic Church may respond to the several paradoxical ethical questions that have been laid bare by oncofertility.