"All the heterologous fertilisation practices allowed by the current Act, as well as the fertilisation with spermatozoa or ocytes from persons other than the members of a couple and the donation of embryos are illegitimate". This was stated by the Portuguese Bishops in the pastoral note published yesterday, about the new artificial insemination act, which was enforced on July 26th 2006. "These methods they add do not really solve a couple’s infertility and separate physical fatherhood-motherhood from affective and relational fatherhood-motherhood, that would be like a couple’s infidelity, even if it is allowed". The Bishops are also against the use of supernumerary embryos: "Using them for scientific research is not morally legitimate, because of the dignity of every human being that is already present in the embryo". "The Catholic morality they claim is based on the truth of creation, the dignity of married love and the promotion of marriage as the foundation of the family. It is not a set of prohibitions. It is an incentive for scientific research to help infertility as much as possible". The Bishops also make an appeal to those couples who cannot have children so that "they will practise their parenting skills in some other way, for instance through adoption or by serving others, especially needy children".
