The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has called on the Federal Government to regulate the operations of fertility clinics in the country, citing moral concerns, health risks, and alleged exploitation associated with in vitro fertilization (IVF).
The President of CBCN, Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, made the appeal at the Second Plenary of the Conference held on Sunday at the Obot Akara Diocese of Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.
Ugorji complained that while IVF has become a popular assisted reproductive technology for couples facing fertility challenges, many unlicensed clinics and quacks are endangering lives and exploiting vulnerable Nigerians.
“Though some IVF clinics are run by competent professionals, many others are managed by unqualified practitioners. Clients risk financial exploitation, medical complications, permanent infertility, and even death. Government must urgently provide regulation and ethical guidelines,” Ugorji said.
The cleric further raised concern over young women, particularly students, who donate eggs to clinics for little financial reward without knowledge of the long-term health risks.
IVF is a fertilization done outside the human body, it is the joining of a woman’s egg and a man’s sperm in a laboratory dish to form embryo (s), after which the embryo(s) will be transferred to the uterus.
Pregnancy occurs when the transferred embryo(s) implants into the uterine wall.
The process typically involves ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, fertilization in the lab, embryo culture, and finally, the embryo transfer.
Morally speaking, Ugorji stressed that Catholics are forbidden from participating in IVF citing the damages it caused.
“The Church considers IVF gravely immoral because it separates the unitive and procreative aspects of marriage and often involves the destruction or freezing of embryos. Every embryo has inherent dignity and a right to life,” he stated.
The plenary, chaired by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and hosted by Governor Umo Eno, was attended by President Bola Tinubu who was represented by SGF, Senator George Akume, the Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, Archbishop Michael Francis Crotty, bishops and priests from across the country.
Nneka ASOGWA
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