CV NEWS FEED // An international study has found that babies conceived through “assisted reproductive technologies” like in vitro fertilization (IVF) are 30% more likely to have serious heart defects than babies who were conceived naturally.
The European Heart Journal published the study on September 26, and included data from 7.5 million children from four Nordic countries. This includes 171,735 children who were conceived through reproductive technologies such as IVF.
The study concluded,
“Overall, assisted reproductive technology was associated with 30% greater odds of having a major (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.31–1.41) or severe heart defect (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.20–1.42) compared with spontaneous conception.”
After former President Donald Trump’s promise to make IVF costs free, either through the government or insurance companies, if he is elected in November, many prominent Catholic theologians and pro-life activists spoke out about how the Catholic Church opposes assisted reproductive technologies.
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As CatholicVote previously reported, Dr. Richard DeClue explained in an article for Word on Fire why such technologies are not pro-life:
“In order for IVF to be successful, multiple eggs are fertilized—that is, multiple humans are created—but only some of them are implanted in the womb. The rest are discarded or frozen indefinitely, which is contrary to their human dignity.”
Only 7% of embryos conceived through IVF make it to live birth, according to his article, meaning the rest are indefinitely frozen or “terminated,” especially in the case of twins or triplets.
DeClue also stated that IVF often becomes a eugenic practice, as embryos are screened for genetic diseases and embryos that appear to have such diseases are discarded.