E/CN.4/2000/65 page 43 proscribe recourse to certain artificial means, such as homologous artificial insemination, which are aimed solely either at facilitating the natural act, or at achieving the objective of a normally accomplished natural act. The operation of homologous in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer is, according to the Holy See, illegitimate, since conception occurs not as a result of a conjugal act, but outside it, i.e. in vitro, through the intervention of technicians who determine prevailing conditions and execute the operation. It therefore no longer corresponds, according to the Vatican, to the sense of gift underlying human procreation, and instead derives from production and power better related to objects and belongings. The child is then born not as a gift of love, but as the product of a laboratory. Man no longer considers life as a gift of God, a sacred reality entrusted to his responsibility and hence to his loving protection. According to the Holy See, life becomes merely something he claims as his exclusive property, which he is totally free to dominate and manipulate. (d) Abortion 163. Abortion, insofar as it represents the elimination of pre-natal life, must be forbidden, on the grounds of the inviolability of the human person from the moment of conception. Abortion is a direct violation of the fundamental right of the human being and constitutes an abominable offence. The Vatican has expressed serious concern at the widely held view that certain crimes against life may be justified in the name of a right of individual freedom, and, by the same token, are entitled not only to impunity, but also to State approval, so that they are practised in complete freedom and even paid for by health services. The Vatican will not tolerate any action aimed at destroying life, despite the risk of incomprehension, misunderstanding and even grave discrimination to which that view may give rise. According to the Holy See, life is far too fundamental a benefit to be equated even with very serious inconvenience. In the Vatican’s opinion, ethical indifference to abortion is induced by a hedonistic and utilitarian culture, derived from a form of theoretical, practical materialism that has engendered a materialistic attitude to abortion. (e) 164. Position with regard to education The following data show that the Vatican runs a vast educational system. 165. On the basis of sources provided by the Congregation for Catholic Education, Ian De Groof (in his paper entitled “The Church’s mission and its school system for promoting the right to education” - July/September 1998) puts forward the following minimum estimates: - Africa (excluding higher education): 25,000 Catholic establishments and over 7 million students; - America: about 40,000 establishments and 10 million students; - Asia and Oceania: 22,000 schools and about 8 million students; - Europe: 60,000 schools and about 9.8 million students - Middle East: 250,000 students.