Bioethics Day of Recollection

Days of Recollection on Bioethics and the Human Person:

Artificial Reproduction, Culture, and Society

About the Program

This Day of Recollection series blends education, conversation and spirituality helping Catholic young adults understand the Church’s teachings on bioethics and the human. Join us for this Day of Recollection to discuss how artificial reproductive technologies—especially in vitro fertilization—shape modern culture and influence our understanding of human dignity. The series will continue in 2026 with two Days of Recollection on scientific experimentation on the embryo and the ethics of medical treatments based on this research.

Participants will:

• Learn the current state of artificial reproduction in the United States and abroad
• Reflect on Catholic bioethical teaching and St. John Paul II’s vision of the human person.
• Have conversations about a range of topics related to artificial reproduction and Christian faith

“A given culture reveals its overall understanding of life through the choices it makes in production and consumption.”—Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, 36.

What are we telling ourselves when our society produces embryos technologically?

When: January 17, 2026 9:30AM-3:00PM

Schedule

• 9:30 AM – Doors Open, Check-in, Refreshments
• 10:00–10:10 AM – Welcome & Introduction Dr. Ijeoma Uzoma: How the idea for this event began
• 10:15–10:45 AM – Dr. Stacy Trasancos — “IVF … What’s the Problem?”
• 10:50–11:20 AM – Conversation Stations
• 11:25-11:55 AM – Dr. Grattan Brown, STD: “St. John Paul II, the Body, and Biotechnology”
• 12:00 PM – Mass
• 12:45 – 1:25PM – Lunch
• 1:30PM -2:00 PM – Dr. Ijeoma Uzoma: “International Assisted Reproductive Technology—Practices Outside the USA”
• 2:05-2:45 PM – Conversation Stations
• 2:50-3:00 PM – Event closing
• 3:00 PM – Optional Hour of Mercy — or explore Exhibit(s)
• 5:00 PM – Shrine closes

The event is open to the public but requires registration. The $10 registration fee includes lunch and refreshments.

About Conversation Stations

In Conversation Stations, participants walk to one or more stations to discuss topics related to artificial reproduction, including the fear and suffering related to infertility, the ethics of artificial reproduction, and what the Scripture can teach about these topics. The dialogue is respectful but probing, an opportunity to raise and wrestle with difficult questions.

About the presenters

Stacy Trasancos, Ph.D. is a chemist and author of five books on the integration of science and theology, including IVF Is Not The Way. She is working on a Ph.D. in philosophy and is a Fellow at the Word on Fire Institute.

Ijeoma Uzoma, Ph.D. is a molecular geneticist and an Assistant Professor at the the University of Nigeria Nsukka. She has taught biology, bioethics, hematology and immunology for 10 years and has over 18 publications in high impact journals including Nature Human Behaviour, Nature Climate Change and Scientific Data.

Grattan Brown, S.T.D. is a theologian, bioethicist, and the Director of Mission & Ministry at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine. He has taught bioethics for 20 years, served on hospital and research ethics committees and published in a variety of peer-reviewed and popular journals.