Catholics recommend killing embryos

For infertile couples desperate to have a child IVF seems like a godsend, but to the catholic church IVF is the work of the devil, resulting in the 'death' of thousands of souls.

The problem is that during the course of IVF many more embryos are made than will actually be implanted, this is due to the relatively low success rate of a single artificial implantation. During the process the excess embryos are stored in a deep freeze. but what happens to them once the couple have had their baby?

Several options do exist, the couple can opt to preserve their embryos in case the want to have another child. Another possibility is to donate the excess embryo to another couple who are unable to undergo IVF themselves or discard the embryo. Finally, the embryos could be donated to medical research. This last option is permitted in Australia and the UK but currently banned in New Zealand despite being recommended by government advisers and the preferred choice for many IVF parents.

At this point the catholic church had to wade into the debate saying that an embryo must be given the unconditional respect due to all humans. The New Zealand Catholic Bioethics Centre said that the only way to uphold [the embryos'] dignity is to allow them to die. Forgetting that the catholic bioethics centre is unlikely to have any special expertise in this area, my question is: can a single cell have dignity or be deserving of unconditional respect? And is the Catholic answer of letting die really the ethical solution?

In a research environment it is true that these cells would eventually be destroyed but this occurs at the 200 cell stage called a blastocyst. The blastocyst has no recognisable human features, it has no complex nervous system to fell pain, and no brain with which to perceive the surroundings. It makes no difference to the embryo whether it is killed at the one cell stage or at the 200 cell stage. Allowing this research to be conducted could help to cure debilitating diseases and will save many lives. Couples should be allowed to donate their embryos to medical science without the unwelcome interference of the catholic church.

~A Puff of Logic~

(Notes: image retrieved from http://ecuprophets.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/jj_blastocyst.jpg)