OUT NOW! IVF is Not the Way
The False Promises of Artificial Procreation
Hey, I am interrupting your Saturday to tell you that my new, timely, and important book, IVF is Not the Way: The False Promises of Artificial Procreation is out now and on sale at Sophia Institute Press.
I started writing the book last December after President Trump was elected and made a promise to make IVF treatment more accessible. In keeping his promise, he signed an executive order on February 18, 2025, calling for a 90-day policy review of IVF in the United States. The executive order asked a committee to explore ways to protect access and “aggressively” lower “out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment.” The AP reported on May 20, 2025, that White House spokesperson Kush Desai said the White House Domestic Policy Council wrote the list of recommendations over the last 90 days. However, we do not know yet what the recommendations are or what aspects will go on to become new policy. This is a good time to have the public conversation about IVF!
Hey, It’s All About LOVE
My intended audience for this book is you, the citizens of our nation or any other nation interested in understanding the Catholic Church’s teaching on the dignity of life and sanctity of marriage. To build this teaching, my book also reviews how God’s existence can be known through natural reason, how we accept divine revelation in faith, and how we understand the human to be made in the image and likeness of God with inherent dignity and rights. I lay out the argument that “IVF is Not the Way” in a 10-premise chain syllogism using the clear logic, sound philosophy, and magisterial wisdom of the Church. The book is meant as a tool to help you understand the argument and engage others in conversation about IVF.
I hope you will grab a copy and give a few to your friends or relatives. Make no mistake: the Church rejects IVF as morally illicit. But the teaching might surprise you in that it is not at all a “no” to children but a “yes” to you gifts and the rights that all children, including you, are owed, namely LOVE.
CHALLENGE!
Whether or not you are Catholic, whether you have used IVF or are thinking about it, or whether you want to defend or try to debunk the argument, I will guide you through the hardest parts of the teaching. I invite you to consider the ten premises and challenge the conclusions. As I say in the book, to convey the richness of the Catholic intellectual tradition, a systematic tracking of the premises allows us to examine each logical step and prove it true or false. That’s the beauty of logic. Building a logical argument is like building a house of cards. If one premise is false, the argument collapses. If I were not confident in the truth of all the premises and the conclusion, I might be tempted to hide the weak spots in ambiguity and slide them past you, but that would be a waste of time. Challenge these premises. Poke at them for yourself and see if there are holes.
—>If you accept this challenge and write or podcast about it, please let me know and I will share, or possibly respond to, your critique. If you would like a review copy, please email me at stacytrasancos@msn.com.
We are surrounded by a culture that sees IVF as a joyful blessing, with millions of children already born and some already grown into adults from the technology. The first IVF babies are getting old enough to be grandparents by now. The case that IVF is the Way of Death, a false promise, must be compelling and clear. There are many questions.
What does it mean to say that IVF is opposed to human dignity?
How can IVF be opposed to human dignity if it allows couples to bear new life? Isn’t the Church in favor of human life?
And what of those children already born? They begin their lives with a violation to their human dignity, treated as commodities instead of gifts. How does this impact them? Or does it even?
What does it mean to say a child is a gift? Isn’t that merely a poetic way of saying parents have obligations? But should the Church tell parents what to do? How is IVF any of the Church’s business in the first place?
Articles and Interviews
As you await your copy of the book, here are some articles and interviews that are already published.
What Rights Do Human Embryos Have? (Catholic Exchange)
How Do You Respond to an IVF-Conceived Person? (Catholic Exchange)
Catholics: First and Final Defense Against IVF (Crisis Magazine)
In God’s Image: Science, Morality, and the IVF Question (NC Family Policy Council)
The Church’s Teaching on IVF (The Drew Mariani Show)
Bishop Strickland endorses book exposing IVF as assault on human dignity - (LifeSite)
New book draws from Catholic teaching to show why IVF is ‘not the way’ (Our Sunday Visitor)
I have many more interviews scheduled and queued for publication. This is my contribution to the fight for human dignity. People often ask me how to change society, and my answer is to keep talking and never shut up. There are always new people awakening to the debate, new questions as technology advances, and new problems to solve. I have seen a lot of things change for the good simply by repeating the message. Don’t worry about changing the person’s mind right there in the moment. Just speak the truth, and let it do its own work.
Interested in a Speaking Engagement?
If you would like to set up a talk either in person or via webcast, please contact Catholic Answers at this link: Stacy Trasancos Speaking. My calendar is quite full for the rest of the year, but if I can at all make it, I will do my best.
And last, if you buy the book and read it, I would greatly appreciate a review on Amazon. It helps to get the word out. Thank you!
Until next time…
👏🏻👏🏻 Congrats! This book is flawless. I hope every family (and every person looking to design one) in America gets a copy!
Congratulations! This book is so very needed.