It is only natural

This understanding of natural law - the imperative to avoid evil and the necessary respect for human life and dignity that flows from it - is at the heart of the church's teaching on bioethical issues. The church assumes that the principles of right and wrong are accessible through their consciences and through reason, not solely through the doctrines of the church.

This reasoned approach to some of the greatest moral issues of the day has positioned the church in opposition to powerful economic, political and cultural forces. On cloning, embryonic stem-cell research, in-vitro fertilization, surrogate motherhood and more, the church has come down opposed to many of the scientific "breakthroughs" of our brave new world.

The reason for this opposition does not stem from an inability to accept change. It is not an exertion of clerical will or philosophical sexism. The church looks with great care at the values and assumptions of such activities and at what tolerance for such activities might mean in the future.

In-vitro fertilization, which has been condemned in a number of documents going back to Donum Vitae (The Gift of Life) in 1987, was seen as morally wrong both for what it was - the break between human procreation and the generation of human life - and for what it allowed. In-vitro fertilization took creation of life out of the body and into the test tube, turning the embryo into an object.

Twenty years after Donum Vitae, what the church feared has come to pass: Creating life in a test tube has in turn led to all sorts of abuses, the most dangerous of which are cloning and embryonic stem-cell research.

The destruction of human embryos for the sake of science is only one horrific result that has flowed from this technology. Today there is a firm that buys human eggs from women and buys human sperm on the Internet. The resulting babies - created for adoption - are literally owned by that firm.

After 20 years, much has changed in bioethics, little of it for the better. Cloning, embryonic stem-cell research, the moral questions surrounding the rescue of frozen embryos that have been abandoned, alternative fertilization techniques: All these and more have become significant medical and cultural issues since 1987.

Some wonder why it takes the church so long to address some critical medical issues. The answer is that the church takes care not to respond prematurely or pre-empt the theological understanding of these actions.

Unfortunately, society is adopting new and dangerous scientific and medical practices at a reckless pace while the church is carefully assessing them.

Despite, or because, of this fact, Catholics are urged to play close attention not only to the church's teachings on these issues, but also on the underlying reasons for these teachings. Catholic understanding of natural law is critical as believers themselves come face to face with a wide variety of bioethical dilemmas.

What is important for Catholics to realize is that the principles of natural law, which the church is duty-bound to enunciate, are the principles that protect the weak and the voiceless, including, but not limited to, the unborn.

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