On February 18, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order aimed at expanding access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) for Americans by lowering costs and reducing barriers. The Catholic Church recognizes the emotional and spiritual pain infertility causes for many couples and acknowledges the desire to overcome this obstacle as commendable. However, the Church teaches that not all methods are morally acceptable. IVF is considered immoral because it separates the conception of life from the marital act, reduces human life to a product subjected to “quality control,” and often results in the destruction of embryos. The Church emphasizes the sacred dignity of human life and insists that children should be conceived as a result of an act of love between husband and wife, in cooperation with God. The Church’s 1987 document Donum Vitae outlines that reproductive technologies may be moral if they assist the marital act, but they become immoral if they replace it. Cloning and o...