Moral Questions

Medical science has made great strides in modern times. A hundred years ago, during WWI, people died by the thousands from the flu. Today joint replacements and open heart surgeries are almost routine. People are living longer as a result of better health care. But some of the advances raise difficult questions, especially as it relates to the sanctity of life in reproduction and end-of-life issues. How much effort and money should be spent to prolong life? When is it time to "pull the plug"? What methods of birth control should a Christian not use? Is it morally right for an infertile couple to try conceive a child by IVF (in vitro fertilization)? Medical science has created a quagmire of moral questions that were not an issue a generation ago.

The first test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in 1978.  Many of those who successfully undergo IVF end up with leftover frozen embryos. As the use of IVF grows, the number of embryos in storage also grows. An estimated 600,000 frozen embryos are now in storage across the United States. 

The government views these embryos as tissue and personal property rather than a human being. Most of these frozen embryos will eventually be destroyed. Since we Christians believe life begins with conception and these embryos are human beings, this creates a moral problem. 

The year Louise Brown turned 20, another couple welcomed America’s first "snowflake baby,"  the term advocates of embryo adoption use to describe the children born from this procedure. President George W. Bush began an initiative through the Department of Health and Human Services to promote embryo adoption.

When couples use IVF, one option available to them is to donate the leftover frozen embryos to another couple. This is an alternative way for an infertile couple to adopt a family. After the doner releases their embryos to the adoptive parents, the embryo is thawed and implanted in the womb of the adoptive mother. She carries and gives birth to the child, allowing the adoptive parents to not only have a child but also experience pregnancy and childbirth. A child that would have been destroyed (technically aborted) is given a chance to live. Most people have not heard of embryo adoption but I believe it is not morally wrong and is a valid way for an infertile Christian couple to build a family.