Leigh Snead Addresses IVF, Suffering, and Faithful Accompaniment During National Infertility Week

Is there a Christian way to carry the cross of infertility?

This is the question posed by The Catholic Association fellow, Leigh Snead, in a piece for Angleus News marking National Infertility Week.

Leigh has become a national voice on a topic of utmost importance and increasing relevance in the lives of so many who struggle with infertility or love someone who does.

Leigh’s book, Infertile but Fruitful: Finding Fulfillment When You Can’t Conceive, was released earlier this year, to wide acclaim. Leigh’s article specifically tackles the sensitive issue of IVF, and the need for Catholics to understand why so many couples use it even though it violates Church teaching.

“A big part of writing this book,” she writes in her piece, “was my desire to address Catholics who find themselves faced with the prospect of IVF. After all, every standard OBGYN practice offers it as a solution — and at an especially vulnerable time for a woman or a couple. I felt that it’s important that they know that they are seen, and that those who encounter them have a better understanding of what they face.”

Leigh, who did extensive research and interviews with couples for her book, breaks down the many reasons couples resort to it, and the many resources and accompaniment the Church has to offer in guidance for “those of us experiencing infertility but also looking to follow the Church’s moral teaching.”

As Leigh lays out in her piece, the goal is to help instruct the infertile faithful first, “by making it clear that we love them and will accompany them in their suffering.” We can point to examples of “fruitfulness without fertility,” and, “we can share the beauty of our Church’s teaching with them, not by preaching, but as a friend shares something beautiful with another.”

You can read Leigh’s article here and you can buy her book here.

Stay on top of all the news you need to know affecting today’s Catholics in the US and around the world. Subscribe to our free newsletter, TCA Media Monitoring, bringing you the latest headlines and concise news summaries all in one place.