The Unitive Meaning of the Conjugal Act in Evaluating Assisted Reproductive Technologies

Humanae Vitae taught that sexual relations must respect both the procreative and unitive meanings of the marital act. Most Catholic ethical analysis of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) has focused on whether the procedure assists or replaces the conjugal act. This paper proposes that such an approach is missing an essential element-namely, whether the procedure respects the unitive meaning of the conjugal act. Pope John Paul II's "theology of the body" provides principles for understanding the unitive meaning. In this light the conjugal act, which is a union of persons, is characterized by respect for the personalist norm, total mutual self-gift, the freedom of the gift, spousal exclusivity, and the spousal communio personarum. In addition to considering the procreative meaning, the moral evaluation of ART should also consider whether the unitive meaning of the conjugal act is respected. When viewed within this framework, certain kinds of ART that are considered morally licit by some ethicists may be impermissible because, or to the extent that, they violate the unitive meaning of the conjugal act.