The public has been informed by the media of the Final Draft of the Bill on Medically Assisted Conception that has been sent from the session of the Government of the Republic of Croatia for further parliamentary procedure with the intention of having it adopted this week before the summer recess of the Croatian Parliament. According to its content and importance, the issue that such a bill deals with should require a broad democratic debate in which conflicting views and arguments would be openly discussed in order to provide citizens with insight into the credible information and facts.
The proponents of this law constantly emphasize that they promised its adoption to the citizens during the election campaign, considering that their promise binds them and their election victory justifies its adoption. However, neither promises nor election victories do not confer the victors with unlimited power over life and death nor give them a free hand to undermine fundamental values such as marriage and family.

Therefore, we emphasize the following concerning the final draft of the bill on medically assisted fertilization:
– It does not protect human rights and is inconsistent with the spirit of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia because the conceived human beings are not guaranteed the right to life but in most cases are condemned to death.
– It is inhumane because due to the selective approach it has an eugenic character, as evident from Article, 3, Paragraph 2, which, unlike the existing law, states as the goal of achieving the conception, pregnancy and birth of a healthy child, which is related to the unlimited use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (Article 9, Paragraph 1, Item 9).
– It is not beneficial to the health of women and men. The procedures for medically assisted conception are essentially not treatments because they do not lead to healing the cause of infertility as a complex medical condition.
– It is not in the interests of children, either before or after birth, because apart from depriving those conceived of the right to life, it deliberately deprives some who are born of paternal love and care, which is contrary to the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Articles 7 and 18).
– It is not aimed at solving problems but multiplies them in the medical, legal and especially the moral-ethical senses. This particularly concerns the unknown number of frozen human beings—embryos—whose fate is completely unknown and undefined.
– It is not beneficial to physicians and the medical profession because it undermines the dignity of physicians, who by implementing such a law would violate the Hippocratic Oath and the Code of Medical Ethics and Deontology of the Croatian Medical Association (Articles 1 and 3).
– It is not beneficial to marriage and the family because expanding the circle of users of medically assisted conception (Article 10) endangers these two pivotal institutions of society in an attempt to equate them with other forms of living together that in no way can replace them.
– It is not in the interests of the future of Croatian citizens and their health because but instead is favorable to the financial and other interests of pharmaceutical companies, medical institutions and participating healthcare personnel.
– It is not resolute in presenting abuses and violation of the law (Articles 56 and 57) because it does not provide severe penalties for repeat offenses, for offenses perpetrated by organized groups. It does not stipulate the revocation of the licenses of medical and nonmedical personnel who violate the provisions of the law. It only provides for monetary fines but not prison sentences, which is not the case in the legislation of the other European countries that already regulate this area. For example, in France reproductive cloning is punishable by a 30-year prison sentence and a monetary fine of 7.5 million EUR.

From all of this, it is evident that the final bill on medically assisted conception is profoundly immoral and inhumane in terms of content and nature, and its implementation would lead to unpredictable consequences for the Croatian society.
Therefore, the members of the Permanent Council of the CCB unreservedly support those citizens who have already signed the Declaration on the Beginning and Protection of Human Life in their opposition and demands regarding the adoption of the Medically Assisted Conception Act.
Likewise, the Permanent Council of the CCB appeals to the Members of Parliament, especially to those who declare themselves as Catholics, not to burden their consciences by enacting this legislation that is directed against life and the dignity of marriage and the family.
Finally, at this grave moment, we invite all the faithful to pray, fast and do penance in order, thereby, and in other available ways, to express their commitment to the culture of life and the values of marriage and family.

Zagreb, July 9, 2012
The Permanent Council of the Croatian Conference of Bishops