The Catholic Church's stance on IVF procedures

Many Catholic priests are encouraging their congregations to vote for Trump/Vance. This is solely because both oppose abortion, although Trump's stance on abortion is really unclear. He really just wants to let the states decide the matter. In other words, he'll wash his hands of the whole controversial issue while stating loudly that he is against abortion. What he'd rather do is promise America free IVF (in vitro fertilization) procedures for married couples. This became clear at the first debate between Trump and Harris on September 10. According to Politico.com:

"The former president, eager to deflect attacks that his election would threaten fertility care, has gone so far as to pledge free IVF treatments to all Americans, paid for either by insurance companies or the federal government." (Trump sells himself as a ‘leader’ on IVF, angering some Republicans - POLITICO)

Wow. Firstly, how socialist of him. This is the type of thing you'd expect from the socialist countries most Americans profess to hate (God forbid America becomes socialist). I'll tackle that in another post; suffice it to say that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program are all 'socialist' programs from which most Americans benefit, thanks to Franklin D Roosevelt. IVF is an expensive procedure, costing upwards of 10,000 dollars per try. It doesn't always 'take' on the first try, so there can be other attempts. In Norway, the government will pay for the first IVF procedure (about half the price of that in the USA); if it doesn't work the first time, the couple are on their own and must pay for future procedures themselves. This is as it should be. It is not a human right to have a child, nor is it the responsibility of the rest of the country to ensure that couples have children. In the same way that it is not the government's responsibility to pay for abortions.  

Secondly, he hasn't done his homework. The Catholic Church does not allow IVF procedures; they are considered immoral. I suggest that people read the information found at the following link very carefully. You will learn why IVF is considered immoral (Begotten Not Made: A Catholic View of Reproductive Technology | USCCB). 

"One reproductive technology which the Church has clearly and unequivocally judged to be immoral is in vitro fertilization or IVF........In IVF, children are engendered through a technical process, subjected to "quality control," and eliminated if found "defective." In their very coming into being, these children are thoroughly subjected to the arbitrary choices of those bringing them into being. In the words of Donum Vitae: "The connection between in vitro fertilization and the voluntary destruction of human embryos occurs too often. This is significant: through these procedures, with apparently contrary purposes, life and death are subjected to the decision of man, who thus sets himself up as the giver of life and death by decree." 

So, to summarize, the Catholic Church wishes to endorse a man for president who is promising free IVF to all Americans, just because he is anti-abortion. He is one of the most un-Christlike men in modern history. It makes no sense, given that many of the IVF-fertilized eggs will be discarded if not needed or if they are defective. How is this different from abortion? I don't get it. I just remember my father telling me that the church is made up of imperfect human beings. I gave up hoping a long time ago that the clergy could provide clear, solid and moral leadership, not weighed down by hypocrisy and confusion. There are very few priests who fit that bill. 

Friendships and a similar core of moral decency

I get it. Everyone is tired, mentally and physically, after a year of nothing but Covid-19 pandemic news and one of the most divisive and destructive presidential elections in American history. Tempers are frayed, patience is thin, and energy levels are low. I am experiencing all of these things, and I know others are too. The toughest thing to deal with has not been the pandemic, strangely enough, but the sadness of coming to terms with the realization that there are friends and acquaintances that I really no longer want to know or have in my life. I just don’t know how to tell them so I haven’t for the time being. The friends were never close friends, but they belong to an earlier time in my life, and at that time, they were kind people—kind to me and kind to others. We reconnected on Facebook after many years of no contact. The people they are now could not be described as kind. I would rather describe them as hard-hearted, cynical, critical, and mean. Unfortunately, they were and still are Trump supporters who bought into the ‘Stop the steal’ conspiracy and all of the other nonsensical conspiracy theories that abound. They won’t condemn Marjorie Taylor Greene for her wild and divisive rhetoric and nonsensical viewpoints. They won’t condemn the hoisting of the Confederate flag in the Capitol building during the Capitol invasion. Heck, they haven’t condemned the invasion itself, and that by itself is cause for concern. They are still posting aggressive and bullying posts on social media that push the 'election was stolen' conspiracy, that Biden is a terrible person--the entire package. 

As I recently wrote to a friend of mine, I want friends whose core of moral decency is similar to mine. I don’t have much time for anything else the older I get. Good friends challenge us to see the other sides of issues, but in a positive way, not in a mean-spirited or negatively critical way. Not in a bullying way. If they love us and like us, they will not be ‘in-your-face’ aggressive toward us. If they love us, they will not be deliberately unkind or mean to us. You are rude, mean or aggressive to people you don’t really like; you don’t have to be, but if you are, it’s because you don’t like them. If you say you love or like someone, then you will strive to treat them well, to be nice, to be respectful, to be positive when criticizing them—all those things that make up common moral decency. Yes, we can be tired or exhausted, but the old adage, ‘count to ten’ rather than say something you might regret, is very applicable for situations that can annoy us with loved ones. How much do you value the relationship you have with others? Continual rudeness, aggressiveness, unkindness or deliberately provoking or needling others are simply ways of telling them that they don’t matter to us, that they are of little value to us.  

The party of morality (NOT)

A friend of mine who is a Trump supporter posted this on Facebook yesterday, and I'm posting it here just to show you the cluelessness of some Republicans. They actually believe they are the party of morality and that they are immune to criticism, but they open themselves up for snappy retorts, which they will get here. 

And this was my response to him, plus a few others that I came up with: 

• My Faithful Husband (Or Sleeping with Porn Stars) by Melania Trump
• Things I Love About Donald by Ivana Trump
• Things I Love About Ivana by Donald Trump
• Corona Virus for Dummies by Donald Trump 
• The Greatest Reality Show (the Best Ever) by Donald Trump
• How to Treat Women Well by Steve Bannon
• White Female Privilege by Steve Bannon
• My Book on Morals by Newt Gingrich
• Pretty Fly for a White Guy by Mike Pence
• Blowhards We Know and Love by Sean Hannity
• Some Pretty Fine People co-authored by the Boogaloo Boys and the Proud Boys

I'll add more as I come up with them. This is fun! Gotta have that sense of humor. The Republican Party is NOT the party of morality, even though they like to paint themselves that way. Let's be honest, folks, the GOP started the whole circus by impeaching Bill Clinton in 1998. That was quite the witch hunt. Clinton may have lied under oath, but 45 has perfected lying. And what about his insistence that Barack Obama was not born in the USA and then harassing him about his birth certificate? Trump lies whenever he opens his mouth. I don't think he knows whether he is living inside of his lies or outside of them.   

If you, my readers, come up with some good ones, I'll post them here and give you credit. Let's keep adding to the list!