Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 422.

YOUCAT Question n. 422 - What can a childless couple do?

(Youcat answer) Married couples who suffer from infertility can accept any medical assistance that does not contradict the dignity of the human person, the rights of the child to be conceived, and the holiness of the sacrament of Matrimony.

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 2375) Research aimed at reducing human sterility is to be encouraged, on condition that it is placed "at the service of the human person, of his inalienable rights, and his true and integral good according to the design and will of God" (CDF, Donum vitae, intro., 2).                                                                                                                                                   

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) There is no absolute right to have a child. Every child is a gift from God. Married couples to whom this gift has been denied, even though they have exhausted all permissible medical means of assistance, can take in foster children or adopt children or become socially involved in some other way, for instance, by caring for abandoned children. 

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 2379) The Gospel shows that physical sterility is not an absolute evil. Spouses who still suffer from infertility after exhausting legitimate medical procedures should unite themselves with the Lord's Cross, the source of all spiritual fecundity. They can give expression to their generosity by adopting abandoned children or performing demanding services for others.  

(The next question is: What is the Church’s judgment on surrogate motherhood and artificial fertilization?)