{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,3]],"date-time":"2026-10-03T11:54:01Z","timestamp":1791028441860,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":12,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]],"date-time":"2026-03-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773360000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Linacre Q"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Embryo adoption has emerged as one of the most contested questions in contemporary Catholic bioethics, arising from the widespread practice of embryo cryopreservation associated with in vitro fertilization. While the Church affirms without qualification the full dignity of every human embryo, it has not judged embryo adoption to be a morally licit response, and it states that the situation of abandoned embryos cannot be resolved through proposals of embryo transfer. This article argues that such restraint reflects moral coherence rather than indecision. Drawing on magisterial teaching, Thomistic moral analysis, and ecclesial considerations, the article examines embryo adoption through the lens of the moral object of procreation. It first analyzes cryopreservation as an expression of a disordered anthropology that fragments embodiment and temporality, thereby constraining later moral options. It then evaluates embryo adoption as an act that initiates pregnancy apart from the marital act, concluding that neither benevolent intention nor tragic circumstance alters its moral species. The article further engages common Catholic defenses of embryo adoption, assesses the risks of moral confusion and scandal in ecclesial witness, and considers pastoral care for infertility within the limits of licit action. By distinguishing the unconditional dignity of children from the moral evaluation of acts, the article contends that embryo adoption represents a tragic limit rather than a moral solution. The Church's hesitation thus bears witness to a vision of human procreation grounded in marriage, embodiment, and moral truth, even amid unresolved suffering.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00243639261429625","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]],"date-time":"2026-03-13T13:32:14Z","timestamp":1773408734000},"page":"451-461","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Embryo Adoption and the Moral Object of Procreation in Catholic Theology"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"93","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1921-029X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jay J.","family":"Oh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Spiritual Care, Chaplain \u2013 NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA"},{"name":"Molloy University, Rockville Centre, NY, USA"},{"name":"Fordham University, New York, NY, USA"},{"name":"Public Health, Ethics, Law, and Healthcare Leadership, eCornell Facilitator - Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_1","volume-title":"Summa Theologiae","author":"Aquinas Thomas.","year":"1947","unstructured":"Aquinas Thomas. 1947. Summa Theologiae. Translated by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province. New York: Benziger Bros."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_3_1","volume-title":"Caritas in Veritate: Encyclical Letter on Integral Human Development in Charity and Truth","author":"Benedict XVI","year":"2009","unstructured":"Benedict XVI. 2009. Caritas in Veritate: Encyclical Letter on Integral Human Development in Charity and Truth. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_4_1","volume-title":"Donum Vitae: Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation","author":"Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith","year":"1987","unstructured":"Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. 1987. Donum Vitae: Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_5_1","volume-title":"Dignitas Personae: Instruction on Certain Bioethical Questions","author":"Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith","year":"2008","unstructured":"Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. 2008. Dignitas Personae: Instruction on Certain Bioethical Questions. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_6_1","volume-title":"Amoris Laetitia: Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on Love in the Family","author":"Francis","year":"2016","unstructured":"Francis. 2016. Amoris Laetitia: Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on Love in the Family. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_7_1","volume-title":"Embryo: A Defense of Human Life","author":"George Robert P.","year":"2008","unstructured":"George Robert P., Tollefsen Christopher. 2008. Embryo: A Defense of Human Life. New York: Doubleday."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_8_1","volume-title":"Salvifici Doloris: Apostolic Letter on the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering","author":"John Paul II","year":"1984","unstructured":"John Paul II. 1984. Salvifici Doloris: Apostolic Letter on the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_9_1","volume-title":"Christifideles Laici: Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World","author":"John Paul II","year":"1988","unstructured":"John Paul II. 1988. Christifideles Laici: Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_10_1","volume-title":"Veritatis Splendor: Encyclical Letter on Certain Fundamental Questions of the Church\u2019s Moral Teaching","author":"John Paul II","year":"1993","unstructured":"John Paul II. 1993. Veritatis Splendor: Encyclical Letter on Certain Fundamental Questions of the Church\u2019s Moral Teaching. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_11_1","volume-title":"Evangelium Vitae: Encyclical Letter on the Value and Inviolability of Human Life","author":"John Paul II","year":"1995","unstructured":"John Paul II. 1995. Evangelium Vitae: Encyclical Letter on the Value and Inviolability of Human Life. 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