I’m unmarried, but want to have kids. Is there a moral way to do it in the eyes of the Church?

I’m 35 and unmarried, with a good job and a loving, extended family. I haven’t had a romantic partner for several years, and the future outlook isn’t much better. I’d love to have kids, and I fear that time is running out — so I am considering becoming pregnant without a partner.

I have a few choices: A male friend is willing to donate sperm (although, frankly, he’d prefer we try “the old-fashioned way”), or I could go to a sperm bank. I think of myself as a good Catholic, and I understand that none of my options is acceptable from the point of view of the Church. But I’m getting desperate.

Which of these options is the least immoral?

— Ticking Clock