Catholic Apologetics Online

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Sterilization

1119. What is the Church's attitude towards sterilization of the unfit? Is it usurping the power of God over life and death, like birth-control and the killing of incurables, or is it a lawful endeavor to safeguard national health, like the preve

The practice of sterilization of the unfit is absolutely forbidden by the Catholic Church as unlawful and gravely sinful. The Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill" withdraws from man all jurisdiction over innocent life and forbids all notable mutilation of a morally innocent human being. Sterilization is a grave injury to a human person, depriving him of a power as integral to human nature as the power of sight or speech. The State did not give these powers, and can no more remove them than it can amputate the hand of a pickpocket thief. The State can segregate a thief for a long or short period, but it has not the right to mutilate him. And the unfit are not even guilty of a crime by being unfit. Sterilization also renders marriage quite unproductive and therefore deprives such men of their natural rights to the offspring of marriage.The State exists to protect its innocent citizens, not to injure and mutilate them. Anyway, sterilization is wrong in itself, and it is not lawful to do evil that good may come. No idea of safeguarding national health can justify evil means. As a preventive measure the State has other and lawful means, such as segregation and education. But sterilization is really an impossible measure in practice. It would not attain desired results.It is not a cure, for the trouble is more psychical than physical; and if anything, it stimulates crime, merely removing fear of consequences. Despite sterilization we shall always have the degenerate with us, even as we shall always have the poor despite all our philanthropic legislation. Other difficulties abound.The degree of mental or physical degeneracy cannot be determined. In less serious cases there will always be a doubt. In more serious cases, we have the disconcerting fact that heredity does not obey invariable laws. Nor can we deprive a man of a right now because of a possible future abuse of that right. And the Catholic Church rightly says that sterilization is an unlawful measure forbidden by the law of God.

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MORE FROM VOLUME 3

• About the Author
• Preface
  - Msgr Fulton J Sheen
• Author's Foreword
  - Dr Rumble, MSC

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