IVF shame and my children’s worth, a marriage without intimacy, family planning with diabetes | ACW352
Ask Christopher West
Theology of the Body Institute
4.9 • 549 Ratings
🗓️ 29 September 2025
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Questions answered this episode:
- Before my reversion, my husband and I conceived both our children through IVF. Now I feel deep shame, even worrying my sin might harm them eternally. A friend once told me IVF babies don’t have souls, which horrified me. Do I need to tell my children how they were conceived, and if so, how do I do it without passing on my shame? What truth can I hold on to about their dignity and worth as beloved children of God?
- As a spiritual director, I know a young couple, married two years, who are struggling with sexual intimacy. The wife says this part of their marriage is nearly nonexistent. I fear this could damage their relationship and I’m unsure how to guide them. Do you have any recommendations?
- I’m an evangelical Christian, and my girlfriend and I hope to marry and have kids. She has type 1 diabetes, which makes pregnancy more complicated and risky. I’m drawn to the Catholic view of openness to life and natural family planning, but she doesn’t have strong theological views about birth control. How can we talk about family planning in a loving way that respects our faith, her medical needs, and the challenges of pregnancy?
Resources:
Our Bodies Tells God's Story Book
---
Ask Christopher West is a weekly podcast in which Theology of the Body Institute President Christopher West and his beloved wife Wendy share their humor and wisdom, answering questions about marriage, relationships, life, and the Catholic faith, all in light of John Paul II’s beautiful teachings on the Theology of the Body.
---
🔥 Get 3 FREE sessions of our flagship course on Theology of the Body
⚡️ Want to have a better chance of us answering your question and support the Theology of the Body Institute? Join our Patron Community!
---
---
🏔️ Pilgrimages
If you are in financial need and honestly cannot afford a book or resource recommended on this podcast, contact: michele@tobinstitute.org
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | From the Theology of the Body Institute, this is the Ask Christopher West podcast. |
| 0:15.3 | Hi podcast listeners. |
| 0:19.3 | Welcome everybody to another episode. |
| 0:21.2 | Thanks for joining us today. |
| 0:22.9 | Wherever you are joining us around the world. |
| 0:25.4 | Some are on your exercise bikes. |
| 0:27.9 | Some are in the shower. |
| 0:29.6 | Some are jogging. |
| 0:30.8 | Some are doing the dishes. |
| 0:31.8 | Some are driving somewhere. |
| 0:33.9 | And Wendy and I are just sitting in my office here talking into microphones reaching you. |
| 0:38.4 | And that's very exciting. |
| 0:39.7 | Yeah. |
| 0:41.6 | Sometimes we like to share reflections on movies that we've watched. |
| 0:47.3 | And we wanted to share one with you today. |
| 0:49.3 | Yeah. |
| 0:49.9 | We watched a movie called A Real Pain, and it moved both of us. |
| 0:57.7 | It's about two cousins who grew up very close and separated, kind of had a rift between them later in life. |
| 1:08.2 | But their grandmother dies and leave some money in her will for them to |
| 1:13.0 | go to Poland where she was from, to see where their grandmother grew up, and to get a little |
| 1:20.1 | taste of some of the pain that she endured during World War II. And they visit one of the tragic death camps in Poland. |
| 1:31.2 | And it's a look, as the title indicates, a real pain. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Theology of the Body Institute, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Theology of the Body Institute and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.