IVF & Embryo Adoption - What’s Right & What’s Wrong?

Acting on a False Reality – Many Christians do it without thinking!

People respond to the problem of leftover human embryos in different ways:

Some ignore the humanity and plight of the destroyed embryos! The IVF process requires you to see children as products, to purchase or throw away, asking no moral questions at all! The couple share their joy, holding their longed-for baby, but they both had to sign for their leftover embryos to be destroyed. Some couples will simply, or painfully, turn a blind eye to get the baby they want. This must be uncomfortable and many will sign in stony silence!

Couples will be advised of options and procedures to discard and freeze embryos, so, the ‘What to do with the embryos?’ is addressed, because it must be, but the humanity of the embryos is ignored! They are destroyed and discarded as medical waste, frozen for future use, or sent for medical research – none of which are fitting for a human person!

Some will believe the ‘pre-embryo lie’ - that embryos in the first few weeks of life are not yet human so may be conveniently discarded or frozen without any moral concern at all. This is undoubtedly the thinking behind the full embrace of IVF by a Christian pastor in the US. Pastor Jeremiah Johnston and his wife have five children, all born through IVF, and they both eagerly support IVF, but clearly because they have bought the ‘pre-embryo’ lie! He says;

“…an embryo doesn’t always transform into a pregnancy…” and; “An embryo is not synonymous with a child… Only when an embryo successfully attaches in a mother’s womb does a child begin its… journey to… living an independent life.”

Using words like ‘transform into’ and ‘not synonymous with’ misleads the reader to think the embryo is biologically different to a child, but it isn’t. An embryo and a child are one and the same, the same DNA, the same person, just at different stages of life. An embryo does not transform into a different thing and, an embryo is synonymous with a child because it is the same person, all there and growing! Implying a major difference in biological form and nature between a one-week-old embryo and a four-week-old embryo conveniently fits the ‘pre-embryo’ lie, but does not agree with science! And, claiming that a child’s journey begins when it attaches in the womb also fits the ‘pre-embryo lie’ but not science. Science says every child’s journey begins at conception!

He also says; “…before a natural pregnancy even begins, multiple embryos will likely have attempted to attach to the womb...”

Again, misleading language! Pregnancy is divided into three trimesters; the first trimester is from conception (life begins) to 12 weeks. For six weeks the baby is called an embryo. It travels to the womb to attach there. An embryo is human whether or not it has attached to the womb. Each embryo lost, naturally or in the lab is a human being lost. Scientifically and biologically, there is no ‘pre’ embryo nor ‘pre’ pregnancy, once conception occurs!

Furthermore, embryos lost naturally is one thing, but embryos selectively discarded by people is another thing altogether. What happens naturally does not give us the right to do at will, and to equate the two is a huge ethical and moral blunder! Some babies die in the womb, old people die every day, but this does not give us the right to kill an unborn baby or an old person when we want to. At conception DNA decides a baby’s gender, but who gives us the right to choose one and kill the other? It is always wrong to kill a baby girl, even if dad wants a baby boy! Whatever happened to a parent’s love for their child, going the extra mile, fighting for their child? And, don’t doctors have a duty of care to ALL their patients?

Pastor Johnston also says; “…the whole purpose of being pro-life is to see the value in children and help moms and dads enjoy their God-given ability to raise them… defending IVF will allow future parents to fulfill their God-given desire to nurture a child.”

NO! The whole purpose of being pro-life is to stop innocent human beings from being intentionally killed. The mission according to Proverbs 24:11 is, “Rescue those being taken away to death; hold back those stumbling toward the slaughter.” Johnstons statements must be considered in light of all the embryos produced, including those discarded or frozen, as they are also human lives and have value! Pro-Life means pro ALL life! It means we protect, nurture and value every innocent life! We don’t destroy some lives in the process! It’s not okay to pick one at the expense of the other, to apply human rights to one and not the other. It’s not ethical to produce 11 embryos, bring 1 to birth, then destroy 10!

NO! We do not meet a parent’s desire – even if it is God-given - at the expense of another human’s life, and this is where a big part of the problem lies. A parent’s desire should never come before the care and protection of another human life. Knowing embryos are human lives, and knowing embryos are destroyed in the process, should dissuade us from the IVF process! This is also why selecting the gender of your child is morally wrong, because it commodifies human beings, reducing human life to a product, resulting in a new form of eugenics; making the babies we want and destroying others in the selection process.

Being pro-Life, is about protecting, nurturing and valuing life first of all, rather than fulfilling our desires first of all, no matter how good they may seem! IVF is not pro-life as it does not protect, nurture or value human life! It only values those it selects and destroys the rest.

Being pro-Life cares for others, even at the expense of our own desires! It means joyfully welcoming a handicapped child, knowing we will have more work! It means rejoicing over another girl, when we wanted a boy! It means we put plans on hold and make adjustments to lovingly welcome an unexpected baby, which arrived before we got married. It means going out of our way to rescue a baby, because that is the right thing to do! It places every life before our own desires and longings, even when that is difficult.