Non-sterilizing Hysterectomies? A Catholic Critique of the CDF
In 2019, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued a statement that a woman could morally undergo a hysterectomy to avoid serial miscarriages if her uterus were incapable of sustaining a child until viability because the procedure would not constitute a direct sterilization. We believe the CDF’s conclusion and line of argumentation are both mistaken. Since the proposed hysterectomy seeks to make impossible what is presently possible—conceiving a child—it must therefore constitute a direct sterilization, which the Church has long taught is immoral. Using the Principle of Totality, we offer and defend a more straightforward interpretation of the case, arguing that while the woman’s condition is both tragic and chronic, spiritual counseling and training in natural family planning should be recommended, as a hysterectomy is not medically indicated in this case. Summary: The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF)'s recently issued a statement claiming that a woman could morally undergo a hysterectomy to avoid serial miscarriages if her uterus were incapable of sustaining a child until viability on the grounds that the procedure would not constitute a direct sterilization. We argue this is mistaken, and that the procedure would constitute a direct sterilization.