...IVF practitioners are expected to transfer a maximum of four embryos in each fertility treatment, and selectively abort the children if more than one or two survive ...
Caruso noted that such “objectification of children” is of a piece with the IVF mentality, where aborting inconvenient children is both routine and encouraged.
“You’d be surprised how many people get to 23, 24 weeks, that used IVF, and have complications with their pregnancies,” he said. “And they say, ‘OK, fine. Just let it go.’ Because essentially they can just go back and do it again.
Napier said practices like selective abortion and mass embryo transfers show profound disrespect, and ultimately disregard, for human life.
“If you think it's permissible to conceive a human life in a glass dish and freeze a human life, you aren't going to think it's a far stretch to go ahead and destroy that human life,” said Napier. “The immorality of IVF piggybacks on the immorality of abortion.”
... Caruso believes it all comes down to how society views marriage, and Napier agrees. “It's not so much 'I love my husband' and 'I love my wife' and 'we're sharing each other within God's plan,'” Caruso said. “It's more about the baby and less about the relationship. It's … the idea that you can have whatever you want, wherever you want, whenever you want.
That last point seems a very good one. It would seem the proper energetic environment for conception ought to be the living celebration of love by the prospective parents. IVF separates the unitive and procreative aspects of human sexuality in an opposite manner than birth control methods and is condemned because it does separate these two dimensions.
Yes, Phil, at the level of how we approach sexuality and prospective parenting, IVF seems wrong. But there are so many levels of immorality IMO associated with IVF. There are the two other issues of:
advancement of science
and
practice of medicine
Just because we CAN join a sperm and egg together in a petri dish does not mean we SHOULD. In that last article, the doctor shared that he was initially quite enthralled and excited by conception in a dish. There is a thrill to what science can do. As a young med student, he got swept up by the prospect of helping infertile couples through IVF.
It's humbling to me that here is another example of how we can start off so sure or ourselves that we are doing good and have great intentions, but can be so bloody wrong and immoral. Thank God He is Mercy and forgiveness.
I see more why we desperately need the gifts of teaching and counsel / wisdom in the Body of Christ, to bring deep revelation of God's truth to us for we are so broken.
Yes, the whole arena of medical ethics is extremely important. The "can" and the "should" need to be evaluated. Unfortunately, there will always be a country somewhere or an organization that pays little attention to the latter -- e.g., the issue of embryonic stem cell lines, or cloning a human being.
Just wondering how this relates to actual people who were conceived through IVF. Surely it could do a lot of damage to them if they believe that they should never have been born and that their conception was sinful? What do you guys think?
Posts: 716 | Location: South Africa | Registered: 12 August 2005
The circumstances of a child's birth are often very important to their sense of feeling wanted/loved. A lot depends on *how* and *what* information is relayed by the family. Also, of course, the extent to which they are otherwise nurtured throughout their lives is important.
So, the IVF by itself need not necessarily be harmful. In the case where the sperm and/or egg donor is someone other than the parents, that tends to be more problematic to children.
Jacques, I'm thinking we shouldn't go there even with people who were conceived in the usual manner. How many people on this planet would be distressed to discover the circumstances surrounding their conception? How many were not planned or even desired? No . . . let's not go there.
For the people concerned, unfortunately it's not possible simply not to go there.
Unwanted children carry an "unwantedness" script around in their minds for the rest of their lives, unless they are fortunate enough to come across appopriate therapy.
Posts: 1035 | Location: Canada | Registered: 03 April 2009
Well that's true, Derek, but I was referring to what parents communicate to their children directly about the circumstances of their birth. I really don't think it's wise to tell them they were a "mistake" or there was a glitch in some birth control method. Not wise at all to do that.
Ironically, IVF children could easily conclude that their parents wanted to have children so badly that they went through extraodinary measures to bring them into this world. Of course, there are all the moral issues mentioned above, but at least in this area, they'd know they were wanted.
I completely agree that it would be a terrible mistake to tell a child they weren't/aren't wanted. But I was actually thinking about the negative effect it may have on IVF kids if the church/Christians tell them that their conception was sinful or shouldn't have taken place. I know that we aren't doing that directly, but by condemning IVF as sinful aren't we indirectly making that statement anyway.
Posts: 716 | Location: South Africa | Registered: 12 August 2005
Yes, Jacques, I agree with your last point above. At the same time, we need to find appropriate ways to teach our children about sin. And we do this in a way they can understand without inducing neurotic guilt and shame, as much as we humanly can protect them. In particular, children need help with their sexual and aggressive impulses--the big two with which humans have the most difficulty IMO.
