The Dissolving Family and the Bio Tech Revolution

Standing on my head ^ | June 1, 2015 | Fr. Dwight Longenecker

[NYer]

This week’s article for National Catholic Register explores the seismic upheaval that has been the bio tech revolution.

We seem blind to the fact that we are living in the midst of the most astounding technological revolution the world has ever seen. Biotechnology is the umbrella term for all the advances we have made in medical know-how, and reproductive technology is the most socially revolutionary subdivision of biotechnology. To put it simply, we no longer approach the transmission of human life as a sacred mystery — but, rather, have reduced it to the status of a baby-making machine that we’ve learned how to switch on and off.

With artificial contraception, sterilization and abortion, we turn the baby-making machine off. With artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, fertility treatment and surrogate motherhood, we turn the baby-making machine on. With the right amount of money and time, we assume we can have a baby when we want one and avoid having a baby if we don’t want one.

The result is a revolution in our understanding of relationships, sexual identity, marriage and the family. For the first time in history, the human race has assumed the power to separate sexual activity from procreation. This has been a time bomb planted at the heart of the traditional family, because the traditional family — rooted in the truth of human sexuality — was about a man and woman coming together in a lifelong, loving relationship, open to procreation and raising children.

Go here for the full article

Image

[NYer]

The moral landscape has changed completely, and, as a result, ordinary people are faced with extraordinarily complex moral problems our parents and grandparents could never have imagined.

The list of issues is long: A Massgoing widow in her 80s asks if she should attend her granddaughter’s “wedding” to another woman. A couple planning to be married are living together with their Catholic parents’ approval. A middle-aged woman tells me she didn’t attend her brother’s “wedding” to his boyfriend — but asks whether she should attend the christening of the child whom the two men have obtained through artificial insemination and surrogate motherhood. A childless couple asks me for the best clinic for in vitro fertilization, while another couple doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with their decision to be sterilized permanently without ever having children. A friend tells me how his teenage son announced he was the sperm donor for the “wife” of his daughter so the couple could have a child that was genetically theirs.

Catholic ping!

[ConservingFreedom]

extraordinarily complex moral problems our parents and grandparents could never have imagined.

The list of issues is long: A Massgoing widow in her 80s asks if she should attend her granddaughter’s “wedding” to another woman. A couple planning to be married are living together with their Catholic parents’ approval. A middle-aged woman tells me she didn’t attend her brother’s “wedding” to his boyfriend — but asks whether she should attend the christening of the child whom the two men have obtained through artificial insemination and surrogate motherhood. A childless couple asks me for the best clinic for in vitro fertilization, while another couple doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with their decision to be sterilized permanently without ever having children. A friend tells me how his teenage son announced he was the sperm donor for the “wife” of his daughter so the couple could have a child that was genetically theirs.

There's no "complexity" in any of those - it's just a matter of having the courage to stand for right.

[DuncanWaring]

Rudyard Kipling put it well a century ago:

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."

[citizen352]

Humanity is more than sexuality! Creativity is important as well.

[GreyFriar]

See the original article and post #5.

[zot]

Thanks for the ping. The original article is correct, and Kipling foresaw it accurately. The traditional family is vanishing and Western civilization is vanishing with it.

[Salvation]

40 Days of Prayer for Marriage: May 22 - June 30
Please Pray This Week for Traditional Marriage – The Supreme Court Is in Session