Question:

I have a doubt. I have hyperthyroidism, which means that my thyroid is functioning much faster than it should. I am being managed with a medication called Propylthiouracil, and I could say that most of the time I feel well, with enough strength and energy to work and care for my son. Taking this pill does not cure me; it only helps my thyroid, and I feel that my health is gradually deteriorating. The way to reduce hyperthyroidism is to take a radioactive iodine pill, which will eliminate part of my thyroid. Radiation, as is known, mutates genes. I had my first baby while on Propylthiouracil and had no problems, but it is not recommended that I take this medication for life. The ideal option is to take radioactive iodine. This has been taken by people for 20 years, and there have been no negative results. However, the sample is not large enough to draw definitive conclusions. A person who studies Nuclear Physics told me that mutations appear in many more generations, two or three down the line. Radioactivity mutates genes, and I do not want to have children who, in the future, may have abnormal children or children with problems. I would like to have another child, and for my health to be better, not deteriorating, so that I can care for them properly. Is it correct for me to have my tubes tied?

Answer:

I understand your concern well. On this problem, I can tell you the following:

1. I cannot pronounce myself—since it is not my competence—on the validity or otherwise of the various treatments presented to you as alternatives. As for the possibility that genetic mutations may occur, this is a risk that follows from the treatment, but it is not a certainty that they will happen. Therefore, it is licit for a married couple to desire and decide to have more children even when there is some probability that they may be born with problems. A child, even with malformations, remains a blessing. Every life is a gift.

2. Although a more or less certain risk of having offspring with genetic malformations is one of the reasons why a married couple may decide not to have children for a time (for example, for the duration of the risk) or for the rest of their lives (if the risk is permanent), it does not follow from this that recourse to tubal ligation is licit:

• Because tubal ligation is a mutilation that affects a healthy organ (it is not a problem of the fallopian tubes), and therefore the principle of totality does not apply in this case. A tubal ligation to avoid pregnancy of this kind is like a person with heart disease deciding to cut off their feet to avoid playing sports, which is dangerous for their life.
• Because it is not the only means of avoiding pregnancy, there is another means which is licit, namely natural regulation of fertility (natural methods, such as the ovulation method or the Billings method).

Fr. Miguel A. Fuentes, IVE

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