Taking into account recent developments in biomedical technology over the last 20 years or so, a new document backed by Pope Benedict XVI called "Dignitas Personae (The Dignity of a Person), an Instruction of Certain Bioethical Questions," reasserts the Vatican's opposition to embryonic stem cell research, in vitro fertilization, and human cloning. The morning after pill and other similar drugs were called "gravely immoral," says a BBC story. Another story in the New York Times says, "The Vatican says these techniques violate the principle that every human life — even an embryo — is sacred, and that children should be conceived only through intercourse by a married couple."
The Church does not, however, oppose research on stem cells from adults, blood from umbilical cords, or from fetuses that have died of natural causes.