Posted on 05/12/2006 6:56:49 AM PDT by NYer
May 11, 2006 — - After five years trying to conceive, Kelly and Eric Romenesko decided to try in vitro fertilization.
Their twins, Alexandria and Allison, were born last year. It was a joyous event in the couple's life.
"They're miracles. They're precious," Kelly Romenesko said.
The couple were not prepared for what came next. When Kelly, a teacher at two Catholic schools in Wisconsin, told her bosses she had gotten pregnant through in vitro, they handed her a pink slip.
"I was in tears," she said. "I remember asking, 'Is this the only reason why I'm being fired?' They stated, 'Yes.'"
The schools say Romenesko agreed to follow church teachings when she was hired. One of those teachings was that the in vitro technique was morally wrong because it replaced natural conception.
"I did not know what the Catholic doctrine stated against in vitro fertilization. Yes, I signed a contract, but the contract was vague in my opinion. I didn't know what I was doing as far as in vitro goes that that went against doctrine. My understanding was it was the Ten Commandments."
People like Joseph Capizzi of the Culture of Life Foundation said that in vitro fertilization ran counter to Catholic teachings, which stress that a child should be conceived through sex between a husband and wife.
"It's not so much that it's artificial that's the problem, instead it's removing the sexual act and procreative act from the context of marriage," he said.
The church also takes issue with in vitro because embryos are sometimes destroyed, but Romenesko said there were other teachers who had in vitro in the school. She said she did not go public with her announcement but "stated it to a principal behind closed doors that we were going through this process."
Romenesko appealed to the school board, but it would not reinstate her. Now a state agency is looking into the case. Meanwhile, the Romeneskos have stopped practicing Catholicism.
"I think the issue here is the fact that Kelly was released from her job for being pregnant, not the in vitro fertilization itself," Eric said. "Our daughters have been baptized Lutheran at this point in time. Kelly and I haven't converted yet."
"It wouldn't change my ability to teach in any way," she said. "It's a shame. This shouldn't have happened."
The Church is full of sinners. Where else should they be?
Every Catholic family nowadays should have at least one copy of the Catechism in their homes. It will answer any question they might have about what the Church teaches. There's no longer ANY excuse for not knowing what the teachings are.
Contraception: women become objects.
IVF: men become objects.
Bad for marriage.
We all know that one girl who got "pregnant on her period." As long as there is no bastardization of the "love-act" we are allowed, WITH GRAVE REASON, to avoid a pregnancy leaving the door open for God to work a miracle. The bugaboo here is WITH GRAVE REASON which is a baby-sized loophole, IMO. For example, I abstained recently for three months because I was in the process of trying to get medical insurance. Some thought that wasn't grave but I did. (After all, I'm "practical mom.")
"..partially blame the Church.."
Think about this story. She states that for 5 YEARS they 'tried' but could not conceive. Five years. In that entire time, she never spoke to ANYONE who knows that in vitro is not kosher? NO one? Not her mom, not his mom, not any close friends at school...NOBODY?
OK. That's what she said.
Yah.
So what?
You know, there are LOTS of things in other people's religions that I think are dumb. I bet there are even things in YOUR religion that I would think are dumb. But you know what? I keep them to myself. Why do you think you can tell an entire religious institution whom they can and can not employ? I would never tell the Christian Scientists that they must employ a pharmacist no matter what I think of their stance on them. In truth, it's none of my business.
You may think the Catholic Church is telling people who can and cannot become parents. They're not. There are literally a million orphans in China and another million around the globe waiting for parents. The people in this story have spent more money on scientists and laboratories than they would have spent getting a baby overseas. The scientists have shot the mother up with hormones that her body just wasn't intended to hold. Why is parenting a biological child so much better than parenting an adopted one in your eyes? So much better that you're willing to call an entire religion dumb?
And your point is..? I think think they all should have been fired (at least.) And that last guy, prosecuted. Don't you?
That sin's on the deacon, then. Good grief!
But I always wonder about people who go into what is obviously a serious procedure, and don't even ask: " Will this kill embryos? What happens to the "spares"?
And I wonder about people -- well, I'm assume they had access to a Internet, even if only at the Publlic Library --- who couldn't google IVF CATHOLIC and find this:
Results 1 - 10 of about 247,000 for IVF Catholic. (0.28 seconds)
They could have been told it was wrong, and why, over 100,000 times in less than half a second.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0926412094/002-5423294-3388818?v=glance&n=283155
A good summary of approved Reproductive Technology for Catholics can be found here:
http://www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/nfp/treatment.htm
Nobody should be shamed for having "not enough kids" or "too many kids."
We're called to be generous in welcoming new life. And to be responsible. And to be "countercultural" in terms of accepting a certain moderate and wholesome asceticism. In other words, don't reflexively opt for "more stuff, less kids." Examine your priorities can see if you can't nudge it toward "more kids, less stuff."
You didn't ask for my opinion, but I think that in this day and age, it is responsible and prudent to have medical insurance in place before you get pregnant. Good on ya, "practical mom"!
"Every Catholic family nowadays should have at least one copy of the Catechism in their homes. It will answer any question they might have about what the Church teaches. There's no longer ANY excuse for not knowing what the teachings are."
You don't need to lecture me about this...and not everyone is as enlightened as you are.
Some people trust their priests and deacons to give them good advise.
In this particular case the husband did read the catechism after the fact - as something in a news article did not jibe with the advise he received.
Our priests and religious educators are failing the people.
I know what you're saying. All I can guess is that some people are so desperate to conceive that they don't look at the situation rationally, but from a more emotional point of view.
For a creative writer possession of the "truth" is less important than emotional sincerity.
wow, that sounds much worse than my wild and public high school. what a den of iniquity. how is this school today? still open?
"You may think the Catholic Church is telling people who can and cannot become parents. They're not. " Well, but they are telling all their adherants to have children whether or not those children survive or have any kind of chance at a normal life. Talk about the millions in China, how about all the third world children living in garbage dumps and not surviving past the age of two or three?
As for telling the Catholic church who they can or can't hire, I voiced an opinion regarding the firing of the teacher. It's dumb,period.
One thing in particular bugs me about this IVF business. I know a dozen women, personally, who have IVF babies. Not one attempted natural means to achieve a pregnancy. In other words, they continued to drink caffiene, alcohol, exercise too much. Common sense solutions (night darkening, reduction of dietary soy intake, B6 or Vitex therapy) were not tried. Natural means were not suggested by the clinics, nor were they pursued by the moms-to-be. One of these moms, in her early 30s, had a downs syndrome baby. She was told that her IVF had nothing to do with it. Now, we know now that DS is a result of improper cell meiosis of the egg (nutritional deficiency.) While the RE's continue bandaid these women's systems and ignore the underlying causes, it seems to me that babies are not forming and growing in the optimal environment.
The Catholic Church is not telling women to have babies they cannot support. It is telling women that it is a delusion to think that a society that discourges childbirth to the extent that Europe does has any future.
Wasn't talking about Europe, I was talking about the third world babies that die in the thousands every year. Those third world countries that the Church has so many adherants in.
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