CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATION

1.1 Background to the Study

One among other characteristics of living things is to procreate. Humans share

in this attribute. They procreate and the essence of procreation is to sustain human

existence on earth. The point is that reproduction is an integral part of human

existence. They long to reproduce their kind. It is germane to note that the kind of

reproduction that is implied here is ‘natural reproduction’. But some humans have

problem of procreating through the natural means of reproduction, which involves

copulation between a man and a woman. This could be due to medical challenges

such as menopause, fibroid, ovarian cysts, hormone imbalance, genetic defects

ovarian disorders, ill-health, infertility (sterility) (Esteves, Humaidan, Roque and

Agarwal 1), to mention a few. To solve this problem of reproduction, humans have to

make recourse to artificial means. This artificial solution is called Assisted

reproductive technology or artificial reproductive technology.

Artificial reproductive technology is the use of scientific means to resolve the

problem of human reproduction. This is the point of Martin Keane, Jean Long, Gerald

O’Nolan and Louise Farragher when they assert that “Assisted reproductive

technology (ART) is the application of laboratory or clinical technology to gametes

(human eggs or sperm) and/or embryos for the purposes of reproduction” (13). Here,

technology is employed to assist natural reproduction, especially when natural means

of reproduction fails to bring about procreation.

The question that readily comes to mind is: can assisted reproductive

technology substitute natural reproduction? This question has moral implication.

Some of these implication could be phrased in questions form such as: is assisted
technology moral? Can its methods or approaches be termed ethical? Does it not

distort the natural means of reproduction? Does it not question the place of the Divine

Being (God) reproductive in the act of procreation?

This project will seek to answer some of the above stated questions by

employing Thomas Aquinas’ natural law ethics. Aquinas asserts that there are laws

that guide all things that exist in the world, including human beings. He notes that

these laws are four and they include the eternal, natural, divine and human laws.

Although he discussed these laws in his works, this project shall dwell on his natural

law and the ethics that is inherent in it. Aquinas holds that the natural law is the moral

law. This law is the law through which God governs and guides rational beings, chief

among them is the human being. Given that human beings are rational beings, they

are also moral beings. This is because it is only rational beings that could be moral. In

other words, morality is associated with rationality. It is in this light that Aquinas

avers that “The natural nothing else but a participation of the eternal in a rational

creation” (Summa Theologica 1a, 2ae, 9, 1.2). The basic principle in this law is that

good should be done and evil avoided. This is a principle that rational beings can

easily relate with. However, human beings possess other inclinations aside the

rational.

According to Aquinas, these are the inclinations humans share with other

creatures. The inclinations include the instinct of self-preservation and animal nature.

These brings human inclinations to three natural inclinations, namely instinct of self-

preservation, animal nature, and rationality (Omoregbe 36). While the instinct self-

preservation has to do with the conservation of life, while animal nature has to with

sexuality and reproduction through sexual act. It is the rational inclination that

distinguishes human beings from other things since it enable them to consciously
moderate their use of the other natural inclination. This is where morality comes in.

Reason or rationality is that tool with which humans become moral agents with moral

obligations. Aquinas buttresses this point as he contends that “all those things to

which man has a natural inclination are naturally apprehended by reason as being

good, and consequently as objects of pursuit, and their contraries as evil, and objects

of avoidance” (Summa Theologica I-II. 94, 2).

Aquinas links his doctrine of natural law to practical intellect or reasoning.

According to him, there are two types of intellect - theoretical and natural intellect or

reasoning. This point is substantiated by Peter Cvek, who posits that

Thomas Aquinas in Question 94, article 2 of the Summa Theologica I-

II. Distinguishing between theoretical and practical reasoning, Aquinas

states that theoretical reasoning is grounded in the apprehension of

being, such that the first principle of theoretical reason is that the same

thing cannot be affirmed and denied at the same time, whereas, the

first principle of practical reasoning is founded on the nature of the

good, since the good is that which all things desire. Therefore, the first

principle of natural law is that good is to be done and pursued, and evil

is to be avoided. (5)

Thus, the natural law enjoins human are rational creatures to act virtuously. This is

captured by Aquinas as follows:

all acts of virtue are prescribed by the natural law- since each one’s

reason naturally dictates to him to act virtuously. But if we speak of

virtuous acts, considered in themselves, i.e., in their proper species,

thus not all virtuous acts are prescribed by the natural law: for many

things are done virtuously, to which nature does not incline at first but
 that, through the inquiry of reason, have been found by men to be

conductive to well living. Therefore, we must determine if we are

speaking of virtuous acts as under the aspect of virtuous or as an act in

its species. (Summa Theologica P 2, Q 66, art 2)

This implies that virtuous life which is the good life is what must be desired and

pursuit all human beings. In Aquinas’ words: “the good is what all things seek after”

(Aquinas 1948: I-II, 94, 2). This submission is the fulcrum of Aquinas’ natural law

theory has implication for assisted reproductive technology. The aim of this project is

to point out this implication (moral implication) of Aquinas’s natual law theory to

assisted reproductive technology.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Infertility is becoming a key challenge facing natural reproduction among

human beings. Assisted reproductive technology has been employed to ameliorate this

challenge. Although this solution has been widely accepted, some ethical questions

have been raised regarding its methods and practices. Some of these questions bother

on: does it not disrupt the natural order reproduction? Is it against the law of nature as

regarding divinely ordained means of reproduction? Is assisted reproduction

technology moral? Can its methods or approaches be termed ethical? Does it not

question the place of the Divine Being (God) in the act of procreation? These

questions and more shall be considered and addressed in the light of Aquinas’ natural

law theory.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to critique assisted reproductive technology

using Aquinas’ natural law ethics. Other objectives include:

i. Exposing some assisted reproductive technology practices.

ii. Exposing Aquinas’ natural law theory

iii. Critiquing some assisted reproductive technology practices using Aquinas’

natural law theory.

1.4 Significance of the Study

This project has theoretical and practical significance. The theoretical

significance is that it critically evaluated the practices of assisted reproductive

technology using Aquinas’ doctrine of natural law as the ethical framework. The

practical significance is deduced from the theoretical significance. Hence, the

practical significance is that it asserts that assisted reproductive technology could be

better appreciated and carried out if the ethical implications are well understood.

1.5 Justification of the Study

The rationale for this work is that the demand for assisted reproductive

technology since is seen complementing and supplementing natural reproduction, but

it presents some ethical concerns. Hence, this work is concerned with highlighting and

discussing these ethical concerns using Aquinas’ natural law ethics as a theoretical

framework. The essence is to see to it that the ethical implications of assisted

reproductive technology is well understood in order to ensure that it is not subscribed

to out of ignorance.

1.6 Method of the Study

Since this is a philosophical work, it ought to employ the methods of

philosophy. The work employs philosophical methods such as critical analysis,

exposition, and logical evaluation. The work in using critical analysis and exposition,

highlights and discuss assisted reproductive technology and Aquinas’ doctrine of

natural law. In using logical evaluation, the work critiques assisted reproductive

technology in the light of Aquinas’ natural law ethics.

1.7 Scope of the Study

This work is limited to the discussions on the practice of assisted reproductive

technology and Aquinas’ natural law ethics. Also, the work shall consult other works

that are related to these two key thoughts.

1.8 Definition of Terms

For the sake of clarity of purpose in any research, definition is unavoidable.

This work defines some key concepts/terms employed in the phrasing of the topic of

this project. The terms defined include assisted reproductive technology, ethics,

natural law, reproduction, and technology. They are defined thus:

i. Assisted Reproductive Technology: This refers to the medical procedure that aim

to achieve pregnancy. It can also be defined as an artificial procedure that aim at

reproduction.

ii. Ethics: This is the branch of philosophy that deals with the principles of morality.

It can also be defined as the moral principle that governs a person’s behaviour,

which is appraised as right (good) or wrong (bad or evil).

iii. Natural Law: This is defined as a body of unchanging moral principle regarded as

a basis for all human conduct. It is a theory in ethics and philosophy that says that

human beings possess intrinsic values that govern their reasoning and behaviour.

iv. Reproduction: This is a biological process by which an organism reproduce an

offspring that is biologically similar to the organism. .

v. Technology: This can be defined as the application of scientific knowledge to the

practical aim of enhancing human life.

1.9 Literature Review

For the purpose of understanding the subject matter better, it is germane to

consult and review some literature that are related to the concern of this project. This
shall concern it’s with literature on assisted reproductive technology and Aquinas’s

natural law ethics.

i. Assisted Reproductive Technology

The work Assisted Reproductive Technology by Khalid Osman notes that

aassisted reproductive technology (ART) involves medical procedures which are

mainly employed to solve infertility challenges. Osman also holds that ART involves

procedures such as intrauterine insemination, in vitro fertilization (IVF),

intractoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), cryopreservation of gametes or embryo and

the use of fertility medication. He posits that ART can be referred to as fertility

treatment if it primarily belongs to the field of reproduction endocrinology and

infertility. Some of ART may be used with regard to fertile couples for genetic

purpose and may also in surrogacy arrangement, but not all surrogacy arrangement

involve ART.

This work has highlighted what ART is and stated the various methods

employed in ART. Hence, it will be relevant to the aspect of this project that deals

with assisted reproductive technology. However, the work does not discuss the ethical

challenges that come with ART. It is here that this project becomes significant as it

will point to the ethical challenges that accompanies ART. This project shall employ

Aquinas’s natural law ethics to critique and highlight the ethical implications of ART.

Alvin S. T. Lim, and Maurine F. H. Tsakok in their work titled “Age-related

Decline in Fertility: A Link to Degenerative Oocytes?” note some factors that are

responsible for decline in fertility in aging women that warrant the use of assisted

reproductive technology to enhance procreation. They note that the major factor

responsible for this problem of reproduction in older women is due to degenerating

oocytes in women above 40 years of age. Accordingly, they write:

 Factors that are thought to contribute to this decline include decreasing

endometrial receptivity …, oocyte quality …, and the number and

quality of embryos transferred …. Although many studies have shown

no differences between the fertilization rates of younger and older

women…, significant differences have been found consistently in their

pregnancy outcomes…. In this study, we postulate that the waning

fertility in older women, particularly those … 40 years of age, may be

due more to degenerative oocytes than to age-associated aneuploidy, as

is currently thought. (265)

This paper is very enlightening on one of the causes of the problem of

reproduction in women, one tend not to agree with the paper that assisted reproductive

technology is applicable only to solve the problem of degenerating oocytes on aging

women. According to this project, assisted reproductive technology is also employed

by younger women who desire to have children without sexual intercourse with men.

It is this use of assisted reproductive technology that places question mark on the

significance of assisted reproductive technology in ameliorating the challenge of

natural reproduction.

In the work, “The contribution of assisted reproductive technology to fertility

rates and parity transition: An analysis of Australian data” Ester Lazzari, Edith Gray

and Georgina M. Chambers posit that ddespite the widespread use of assisted

reproductive technology (ART), few studies analysis its impact on the total fertility

rate (TFR). Also, very little is known about how ART affects fertility at older

reproductive ages and contributes to family size. This study provides a detailed

examination of the contribution of ART to age-specific fertility rates and in relation to

parity transition. Hence, the advocacy of this work is that the importance of ART for

the recovery of births at older reproductive ages must not be underestimated (1081).

Like the preceding paper, this paper seems to suggest that assisted

reproductive technology is aimed at ameliorating the challenge of natural

reproduction in aging women, and losing sight of the fact that even younger women

today employ this means of reproductive even when they do not have the challenge of

natural reproduction. The project considers this other side of the use of assisted

reproductive technology as unwarranted. It is on this note that Aquinas’ natural law

theory will be evaluation the use and significance of assisted reproductive technology.

The “Female Infertility and Assisted Reproductive Technology” by Sandro

Esteves, Peter Humaidan, Matheus Roque and Ashok Agarwal discess the challenge

of female infertility and how assisted reproductive technology is possible medical

solution to these problem. On the challenge of female infertility, they argue that

Female infertility is a disease of the reproductive system, caused primarily by female

factors including ovulatory disorders, diminished ovarian reserve, anatomical,

endocrine, genetic, functional or immunological abnormalities of the reproductive

system, chronic illness, and sexual conditions incompatible with coitus. It affects

women of reproductive age (15-49 years), who are unable to become or remain

pregnant after twelve months or more of unprotected intercourse. The psychosocial

consequences of female infertility are severe, including the tendency to blame women

for the inability to conceive leading to stigmatization, isolation, neglect, intimate

partner violence and polygamy. The prevention and management of female in fertility

is an integral component of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services

that are needed to attain a sustainable development goal. Hence, they assert that ART
has become an integral element of care for many women suffering from infertility

over the last forty years. On assisted reproductive technology, they quip that

ART comprises all interventions that include the in vitro handling of

both human oocytes and sperm or of embryos for the purpose of

reproduction. ART includes, but is not limited to, in-vitro fertilization

(IVF) and embryo transfer, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI),

embryo biopsy, preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), and gamete and

embryo cryopreservation (1).

The thought here is so captivating and has lots to offer to this present project.

First, it gives an insight into female infertility problem. And second, it states

categorically that assisted reproductive technology is a possible solution to this

medical menace. Thirdly, it states some of the types of assisted reproductive

technology that could be employed in solving the problem of infertility in women.

Although this work seems very plausible, it do have shortfalls such as it writes on the

problem of infertility as if it is a challenge faced by women alone, implying that

women are accepted from it. This project disagrees with this view as it holds both

men and women are faced with this medical challenge. Another problem with this

paper is that it fails to evaluate the use of assisted reproductive technology as possible

solution to the problem of natural reproduction. This project goes beyond this paper as

it employs Aquinas’ natural law theory to evaluate the use of assisted reproductive

technology.

Chinelo A Ekechi-Agwu and Anthony O Nwafor’s “Regulating Assisted

Reproductive Technologies (ART) in Nigeria: Lessons from Australia and the United

Kingdom” contend that Assisted reproductive technologies (ART), are innovative,

non-coital medical procreative procedures, that have brought respite to a number of

childless persons and couples, just as it also raises a number of ethical and medico-

legal issues. A number of countries including Nigeria, are still struggling to find the

appropriate legal framework to provide guidelines for this reproductive process to

curtail inherent unethical practices associated with that development. The paper

explores the available regulatory instruments in Nigeria and in cognate jurisdictions

such as Australia and the United Kingdom, through a comparative study to ascertain

the efficacy of the existing instruments in ensuring that unethical practices and abuses

associated with ART are eradicated. The findings indicate that the regulatory

instrument in Nigeria requires significant improvement in line with the legal

frameworks in operation in the cognate jurisdictions to effectively guard against

potential unethical practices and abuses associated with the application of ART.

This paper transcends the preceding papers in that it holds that the assisted

reproductive technology has some challenge hence the need for its use to be regulated.

The paper raise its evaluation of assisted reproductive technology from the legal

angle. This paper shall do its evaluation from the angle of philosophy (ethics). More

specifically, Aquinas’ natural law theory will be the philosophical cum ethical theory

that will be employed to do this evaluation.

In the paper “Reproductive Technology and Its Impact on Child Psychosocial

and Emotional Development” by Susan E. Golombok, it is noted that creating families

by means of assisted reproduction has raised a number of concerns about potentially

adverse consequences for child development. There is no evidence of cognitive

impairment in singleton children born as a result of IVF procedures, although the

findings regarding intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) children remain

inconclusive. The paper also noted that “the reports of superior cognitive functioning

among donor insemination children have not been supported by large-scale,

controlled studies could conceivably result from the use of highly educated donors. In

relation to socioemotional development, assisted-reproduction children appear to be

functioning well. The greater difficulties of IVF infants are based on maternal reports

and probably result from the higher anxiety levels of IVF mothers. Studies of children

during the pre-school years do not indicate a higher incidence of emotional or

behavioral problems among assisted-reproduction children. (9)

In the paper “Reproductive Technology and Its Impact on Psychosocial Child

Development”, Carmen Lok Tung Ho and Alastair G. Sutcliffe, avers that it appears

that conceiving a child by IVF and disclosing this method of conception to the child

does not have a detrimental effect on the child’s psychological development over and

above the range of emotional environments to which children in naturally conceived

families can be exposed. There are far more important issues beyond the brief of this

report that definitely have implications for public policy. These include the major

problems in ART resulting from higher-order births, prematurity and disability and

the impact of falling fertility, as noted below. According to the authors, the

implication of this for policy and service perspectives include: 1. eevidence of any

problems attributable to reproductive technology on psychosocial child development

is weak and contradictory. On balance, this seems unlikely; 2. Service providers need

to consider more fundamental issues, such as encouraging a policy of single embryo

replacement to reduce the rate of higher-order births (three or more babies); 3. A

reduction in higher-order births will also lead to a reduced workload for neonatal

intensive care units and reduce the secondary disability burden on families, health-

care systems and society/the economy as a whole; 4. Long-term surveillance of these

children would be ideal as a way of anticipating future risks, such as reduced fertility,

for the next generation; 5. Since fertility rates are falling and the use of the new
reproductive technologies is growing, these children will make up a significant client

group as adults. If they have been exposed to undue risks as a result of their mode of

conception, they will take a very different view of these risks in relation to those who

helped in their conception (17).

The article “The Future of IVF: The New Normal in Human Reproduction” by

Vitaly Kushnir, Gary Smith, and Eli Adashi focuses on an aspect of assisted

reproductive technology. The article holds iincreased demand for in vitro fertilization

(IVF) due to socio-demographic trends, and supply facilitated by new technologies,

converged to transform the way a substantial proportion of humans reproduce. This

article describes the societal and demographic trends driving increased worldwide

demand for IVF, as well as to provide an overview of emerging technologies that

promise to greatly expand IVF utilization and lower its cost. The authors discuss IVF

thus: “The basic steps in the IVF laboratory include: 1. identification and separation

of sperm and oocytes, 2. fertilization, 3. embryo culture, 4. embryo selection for

transfer, and 5. cryopreservation of surplus embryos and gametes” (850).

This work is insightful in that it restricts itself to an aspect of assisted

reproductive technology. It also states the categorically the steps involve in IVF. This

restrictive discourse on assisted reproductive technology is out of the picture of this

project. But in this project, the focus is on the diverse types of assisted reproductive

technology.

Anja von SchondorfGleicher, Lyka Mochizuki, Raoul Orvieto, Pasquale

Patrizio, Arthur S. Caplan and Norbert Gleicher in their “Revisiting selected ethical

aspects of current clinical in vitro fertilization (IVF) practice” posits that eethical

considerations are central to all medicine though, likely, nowhere more essential than

in the practice of reproductive endocrinology and infertility. The paper notes that in
vitro fertilization (IVF) is a field in medicine which is involved in creating human life

as it has led to close to several million births worldwide. Yet, relating to substantial

changes in clinical practice of IVF, the medical literature has remained surprisingly

quiet over the last two decades. In line with this, the paper contends that

Three key changes deserve special notice: Starting out as a strictly

medical service, IVF in recent years, in efforts to expand female

reproductive lifespans in a process given the term “planned” oocyte

cryopreservation, increasingly became more socially motivated. The

IVF field also increasingly underwent industrialization and

commoditization by outside financial interests. Finally, at least

partially driven by industrialization and commoditization, so-called

add-ons, the term describing mostly unvalidated tests and procedures

added to IVF since 2010, have been held responsible for worldwide

declines in fresh, non-donor live birthrates after IVF, to levels not seen

since the mid-1990s. (591)

The paper goes on to to point out ethical issues that arose because of major recent

changes in clinical IVF practice.

This article is relevant to the present project in that it gives an insight into IVF.

But it must be noted that IVF is not restricted to only IVF. Hence, this project

transcends this article by discussing other aspects of assisted reproductive technology.

“Awareness and perception of assisted reproductive technology practice

amongst women with infertility in Northern Nigeria” by Adebiyi Gbadebo Adesiyun,

Nkeiruka Ameh, Solomon Avidime and Abdulsalam Muazu asserts that iinvoluntary

infertility is a tragedy in most African setting. This is due to premium placed on

fertility as a result of roles children fulfill in the family and the society. The paper also
avers that a etiologic factors of infertility in sub-Saharan Africa are mostly infection

related and they are mainly associated with poor treatment outcome to conventional

non assisted conception technique. This paper evaluates the level of awareness and

perception of assisted conception treatment among women attending fertility clinic

and concludes that aawareness of assisted conception treatment was high, however

knowledge on specifics of treatment was low and perception on some of the practices

was unfavorable. Hence, the paper notes that sensitisation of the public will help

overcome some beliefs that may be at tangent to some practices of assisted

conception.

This paper is very insightful on the issue of assisted reproductive technology.

Despite its merits, the paper fails to evaluate the practice of assisted reproductive

technology. This project fills this lacuna by evaluating assisted reproductive

technology using Aquinas’ natural law theory.

ii. Aquinas’ Natural Law Ethics

Raymond Bradley in his work “Between Natural Law And Human Law in

Thomas Aquinas” examines in detail the relationship that exists between the natural

law and the human law in the thought of Aquinas. According to Bradley, “For

Aquinas all human laws are derived from the natural law, which in turn is a

participation in the eternal law of God” (24).

The merit of this work lies in the fact that it brings to the fore the relationship

between the natural law and human law since it holds that human laws stems from the

eternal and natural law. This thought will be useful in the aspect of this project that is

concerned with Aquinas’ doctrine of natural law ethics. This project shall transcend

the present work by using Aquinas’s natural law ethics to evaluate ART.
 The work “Moral theories: Aquinas's moral theory” by Raph McInerny

discusses Aquinas’s theory of natural law, which his links to moral theory. McInerny

asserts that the moral thought of Aquinas has a theological as well as a philosophical

aspect; but he concerns himself with the philosophical aspect, which he calls moral

philosophy. According to him,”Moral philosophy can now be defined as that

knowledge of how we ought to act which is independent of religious belief for its

acceptance” (31). Also, he contends that the moral philosophy of Aquinas is a version

of Aristotelian ethics. Like Aristotle, he will take the end to be the beginning of

practical considerations, such that moral precepts are in effect judgments as to how

the end is to be achieved. A certain kind of action can be assessed as good or bad to

the degree that it is conducive to the end desired. But ends too are subject to moral

appraisal. As with Aristotle, ends sought and the actions which are the means of

attaining them, are appraised with reference to the nature of the human agent. Good

ends and means are those befitting the human agent; bad ends and means are those

which are not thus fitting. This is what is meant by Natural Law.

The strength of this paper lies in its focus on the philosophical aspect of

Aquinas’ moral thought. It is relevant to this project given that gives the background

to Aquinas’ natural law theory, which he traced to Aristotle and its insights into what

the natural law is. But it should be noted that the paper does not employ this natural

theory to evaluate assisted reproductive technology. This project becomes relevant

because it seeks to fill this lacuna.

Lingchang Gui’s “Hierarchies of basic goods and sins according to Aquinas’

natural law theory” posits that Aquinas’ natural law theory contains a set of basic

goods, such as survival, reproduction and the pursuit of truth. The paper closely and

carefully examining various modern scholars’ theories and Aquinas’ texts and noted
that Aquinas’ natural theory talks about 1.) hierarchies of basic goods and sins; and

2.) These hierarchies are horizontal and vertical according to the order of participation

and the dignity of substances, respectively.

The central Contribution of this paper which makes significant to this project

is that it concerns itself with the modern debate on Aquinas’ natural law theory

hierarchical theory of basic goods and provides an authentic and insightful

understanding of Aquinas’ own view, which can be applied to his theory of sin.

Although it deals with issue of reproduction, the paper fail to link Aquinas’ natural

law theory to the issue of assisted reproduction stating whether it is sin or not. This is

where this project becomes significant since it is geared towards applying Aquinas’

natural law theory to the practice of assisted reproductive technology.

Júlio Aguiar de Oliveira / Bárbara Alencar Ferreira Lessa in their paper “Hans

Kelsen and the Tradition of Natural Law: Why Kelsen’s Objections to the Natural-law

Doctrine Does Not Apply against Aquinas’s Theory of Natural Law” seeks to defend

Aquinas’ natural law theory against some criticisms raised by some scholars. In

stance, they assert that Hans Kelsen, in his works, raises several objections to the

Aquinas’ natural law doctrine. Kelsen contends that natural law theorists, searching

for an absolute criterion for justice, try to deduce from nature the rules of human

behavior, which is problematic. The authors also note that Robert P. George, in the

essay Kelsen and Aquinas on the ‘Natural Law Doctrine’ critically examines Kelsen’s

criticism of Aquinas’ natural law theory and concludes that what Kelsen understands

as the Natural-law doctrine does not include the natural law theory put forward by

Thomas Aquinas. Hence, the authors in agreement with George’s position went ahead

to demonstrate how Aquinas’ natural law theory can be vindicated against Kelsens

criticisms.
 It is germane to note that in responding to the criticism raised by Kelsen

against Aquinas’ natural law theory the paper exposes this theory. Hence, the paper

provides useful ideas on Aquinas’ natural law theory, which this project shall build

on. However, this project shall also fill in the gap in this paper, which is applying

Aquinas’ natural law theory to assisted reproductive technology.

In the paper “A New Look at the Natural Law of St. Thomas Aquinas Thomas

Aquinas”, Harold C. Petrowitz exposes Aquinas’ natural law theory. The paper

approaches its task in two ways. First, it traces Aquinas’ natural law theory to ancient

Greece. In the words of Petrowitz “St. Thomas took the theories of the Greek and

Stoic philosophers and molded them into concise principles that have formed the basis

of most legal philosophic writing since his time” (306). Secondly, the paper analysed

Aquinas natural law theory, demonstrates its relationship with legal philosophy such

as legal positivism and legal realism and that it is the foundation of the world legal

order.

The general information on the historical influence to Aquinas in the

articulation of his natural law theory and what is it is beneficiary to this project.

However, this project will not delve into the issue of the influence of Aquinas’ natural

law theory to legal positivism and realism as well as world legal order. Instead, it

shall focus on evaluating assisted reproductive technology using Aquinas’ natural law

theory.

The work The Essential Natural Law by Samuel Gregg discusses the natural

and traces its origin to ancient Greece stating that it began with the sophists and Plato.

It also notes that it crystallises into a more profound philosophical system in the

thought of Aquinas. Accordingly, Gregg quips:

 But when the phrase “right” is used in natural law, the focus is upon

what reason identifies as good and just. Much of this was neatly

explained by Thomas Aquinas. To his mind, natural law consists of the

basic principles of practical reason for humans. The most fundamental

of these principles is that good is to be done and evil is to be avoided.

Here good means reasonable while evil means unreasonable. A second

key principle of practical reasoning is that knowledge is a good to be

pursued while falsehood and ignorance are to be overcome. A third

principle is that you may never do evil even if you anticipate that good

may come of it. (14)

This work has given a plausible discussion of the natural theory in that it

traces its origin to ancient Greece and that Aquinas is its most celebrated articulator in

the history of philosophy as well as it states in clear terms what the natural law is,

according to Aquinas. However, the challenge before one now is: what are the

implications of Aquinas’ natural law theory to assisted reproductive technology? This

project gains its relevance as it seeks to address this question.

In the paper “St. Thomas Aquinas and the Development of Natural Law in

Economic Thought”, Muhammad Mustafa Rashid avers that Aquinas built his natural

law theory of the thoughts of Greek philosophers, specifically Aristotle, This paper

also notes that the theory was further developed in the Middle Ages and in the

Enlightenment Ages by many prominent philosophers and has been recognized in the

Modern Age. Furthermore, the paper contends that the natural law theory has been

repeatedly applied to the spheres of economic thought and has produced many lasting

contributions such as private property rights and individual rights. In recent times

with the collapses of the financial system and rapid globalisation, there has been a
renewed interest in the application of natural law theory to economics to counter a

certain anthropology and distortion of values created by a modern economic system of

self-preservation.

Although this project shall draw insights from the paper in terms the historical

background to Aquinas’ natural law theory, it shall apply this law to economies. On

the contrary, it applies Aquinas’ natural law theory to assisted reproductive

technology.

The article “Reason and Natural Law” by Stephen Pope holds that natural law

doctrine emerges from the ancient and medieval contexts, but that it has some modern

interpretations. This paper also asserts that following the thought of Aristotle,

Aquinas human beings alone possess intellect, which is speculative and practical.

Aquinas links his natural law theory to practical intellect as he notes that this

reasoning enjoins every to act morally. This apparent in the injunction – do good

and avoid evil, which is rooted in the practical reasoning - all agents act for an end

and seeks the good. It is on this that the natural law is built.

This paper is very informative on Aquinas’s theory of the natural law as he

states its historical influences and its meaning. What is has not done is to engage it in

evaluating assisted reproductive technology. Here is where this project takes it

relevance as it critically evaluates assisted reproductive technology in the light of

Aquinas’ natural law.

In the work “A Study of One of the Most Fascinating and Ancient Theories of

Jurisprudence: The Natural Law Theory by Thomas Aquinas” wwritten by Srirupa

Choudhury, it is noted that there is no exact meaning of Natural Law. In

jurisprudence, Natural Law, the law or the rule that imply in the nature which

regulates the activities of nature in the organic or inorganic state. The paper also
asserts that natural laws are known as high law or laws of nature which have been

constantly dominated on the full basis of politics, law, religion and social philosophy.

Natural law is referred to as the sets of unwritten laws that include the nature of man

or reasoning or the principles derived from God. It is an understanding of the moral

law that is either given with nature and is known through reason or given

independently of nature with moral reason. Furthermore, it posits nnatural law is

universal and common to all humanity. It goes beyond differences in various

formulations of culture, religion, and moral law. “It is often understood as the basic

source of norms whereby the moral norms that are formulated positively should be

achieved when morally appropriate. Natural law is the oldest theories among all the

ores, called as God made Laws, emanated from supreme source”. More so, this paper

notes that philosophers like Aquinas, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, to mention only a

few employed natural law as the framework for criticising and structuring the law in

human existence.

This paper has given one insights that must be noted and used in the sections

on Aquinas’ natural law theory in this project. But this project shall not employ

Aquinas’ natural law theory to criticise legal practice as this paper has done. Rather, it

shall employ it evaluating assisted reproductive technology.

Peter Cvek in his work titled “Thomas Aquinas and John Locke on Ultimate

Reality and Meaning: Natural Law and Natural Inclinations” investigates that

relationship that exist between Thomas Aquinas and John Locke’s thought on natural

law. In the words of Cvek, “On the one hand, Aquinas advances what many take to be

the paradigmatic account of a natural law ethics, one grounded in an Aristotelian

philosophy of nature within a Christian theological worldview. On the other hand,

despite his best efforts, Locke’s attempt to develop a theory of natural law appears to
have resulted in failure” (4). Hence, the paper favours Aquinas’ thought. Accordingly,

it avers that

At the heart of the natural law tradition in ethics is the belief that moral

principles, precepts, or basic human goods are rooted in nature, or

more precisely, that these principles can be discovered by rational

reflection on natural inclinations, those inclinations which constitute

the core of human nature. Every natural law theory therefore assumes

that there is a significant connection between nature and reason. (4)

This thought on Aquinas natural law theory shall inform this project as one

seeks to articulate Aquinas’ thought on natural law. However, the project shall move a

step further by noting that Aquinas’ natural law theory has implication for assisted

reproductive technology.