Humans are a sexually reproducing species. Reproduction requires two different kinds of cells: sperm from men and eggs from women. No woman produces sperm, and no man produces eggs. Without medical help, a baby is conceived when sperm from one man and an egg from one woman join together, usually through sex between a husband and wife.
For two women to have a child who is related by blood to at least one of them, this is what must happen:
• One woman provides the egg.
• Sperm must come from a third person – a male donor.
• Doctors use technology like IUI or IVF to make it work.
This is not how human reproduction works in nature. It always needs a man’s contribution and medical help. The child ends up with two mothers but no father in the home. The biological father is usually unknown or not involved.
Theological traditions teach that every child has a right to be born to a known mother and father. This comes from the understanding that God designed male and female to complement each other in marriage and family life. Creating children this way goes against that natural plan.
Only a man and a woman can create a human being. Only a man and a woman can become one flesh. A man can take hormones, wear lipstick, grow his hair out, buy high heels, and change his name. He will still never be a woman. Men are men. Women are women. Nothing can change biology.
Many people say giving female same-sex couples access to donor sperm is simply about equality. But from the view of natural law and traditional theology, equality cannot come before the basic rights and needs of the child. The natural way of bringing children into the world points to the union of man and woman. Policies that treat this as just another option send the message that children’s rights to know both biological parents and to grow up with both a mother and a father are less important than what adults want.
Look at the recent data from Malta. Information tabled in parliament shows 44 babies born to female same-sex couples through gamete donation since 2018. These numbers are small, but they show a bigger change: technology and laws are helping to reshape how we think about family away from its natural roots.
Instead of expanding these practices, societies should focus on what respects the natural order. This means supporting stable mother-father families and putting the child’s full good first, including a connection to both a mother and a father.
Children are not projects to be designed.
They are gifts who deserve the best chance to grow up knowing where they come from and surrounded by the natural balance of maternal and paternal love. We should think carefully before moving further away from that foundation.
