For infertile couples struggling to have children, in vitro fertilization (IVF) may seem to provide a beacon of hope. However, there are ethical issues Christians need to consider.
According to Genetics and Society.org, “Since August 1991 more than 3.5 million human embryos have been created. Of the embryos created, almost 840,000 were put into storage for future use and more than 2000 were stored for donation. Almost 5,900 were set aside for experimentation and research.”
Embryonic Children Die
While GRTL empathizes with the many couples who turn to IVF as a treatment for infertility, we caution that some commonly used procedures surrounding this practice ignore the personhood and cause the deaths of children at the embryonic stage in the following ways:
- Producing excess embryos – they are frozen indefinitely or are destroyed.
- Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis – embryos are tested for undesirable traits like inherited diseases, or unwanted sex, and then destroy the ones who do not meet certain standards are destroyed.
- Selective reduction – typically two or more embryos are transferred into the uterus, if a multi-fetal pregnancy results, it’s recommended that more than one be aborted.
- Some fertilized embryos are set aside for experimentation or research.
The IVF process involves combining sperm with one or more eggs in a laboratory to create embryos, which after several days, can be implanted in the woman’s uterus.
One major concern with the process is creating more embryos than are needed for a single implantation cycle because injectable fertility drugs are used to increase the number of eggs grown in the ovaries.
This results in multiple eggs being available for fertilization. Not all available eggs need to be fertilized in the lab; however, since the process is expensive and time consuming, many doctors advise women to fertilize as many eggs as possible to increase their odds of successful embryo development.
The Problem of “Extra” Embryos
One woman who went through the process now lives with regret that she created so many embryos. She has ruled out placing the “extras” for adoption because she said, “I have no way of knowing that my biological children are going to be brought up in loving homes…”
In her case, the result is 29 embryos sitting in storage that costs $600 a month to keep alive because she and her husband “don’t know what to do with them.”
The accumulation of frozen embryos across the U.S. in states with different laws regulating them is almost an unsolvable ethical dilemma. Many couples are not willing to implant them but don’t want them destroyed, so the number keeps growing.
Nationwide, it’s estimated that there are between 1.5 to 3 million frozen embryos waiting to be thawed and implanted.
A Record Breaking Case
Twin children were conceived through IVF in 1992 and were eventually born in October 2022 in Portland, Oregon. They hold the record as the world’s longest frozen embryos that were eventually donated and born.
“I was five years old when God gave life to Lydia and Timothy, and He’s been preserving that life ever since,” the adoptive father Philip Ridgeway told CNN. “In a sense, they’re our oldest children, even though they’re our smallest children.”
Pick and Choose
A survey by the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics found that about 73% of U.S. fertility clinics offer gender selection. For example, getting a boy, instead of a desired girl, can result in a death sentence for that unwanted precious child. Couples can also test their embryos for traits they don’t want, such as inherited diseases, the wrong eye color, or the projected height of the child. Again, these children are often destroyed.
Safety Considerations
Couples considering using IVF need to be aware that there are risk factors in using the procedure, including:
- Multiple births if more than one embryo is implanted
- Potential premature delivery and low birth weight
- Miscarriage
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Birth defects
- Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS)
January is Sanctity of Human Life Month (SOHL), and Sunday, January 22 is SOHL Sunday. The sanctity of human life means humankind is the only life form created in the image of God and is therefore sacred.
GRTL strongly encourages couples planning on using IVF to respect the personhood and sanctity of human embryos and only create the number of children they plan to implant in a single cycle.
Sources: ComplellingTruth.org; baptistpress.org; mayoclinic.org; liveaction.org; bioedge.com; ktla.com.
By Wayne DuBois
Georgia Right to Life
Media Relations Advisor