IVF & Embryo Adoption - What’s Right & What’s Wrong?
- Is IVF - In Vetro Fertilization - ethical?
- Can Christians do IVF?
- What alternatives can an infertile couple try instead of IVF?
- What is Embryo Adoption? How is that morally different to IVF?
Reportedly about 1 million couples in Vietnam currently face infertility, which is about 7.7 percent of all couples. Infertility is defined as a wife unable to conceive after the couple has sexual intercourse on an average of 2-3 times per week for one year.
Vietnamese couples are very accepting of IVF, not just to help with infertility, but also to selectively get the son they want! One website we checked mentioned the ‘growing trend’ in Vietnam to turn to IVF because of the ‘option of selecting the sex of their child.’[1]
But, is IVF an ethical procedure? Does IVF harm people in the process? Is it morally right to ‘select’ a child? And if IVF is not the answer, what could a couple facing infertility do?
What is IVF?
In vitro fertilization, known as IVF is a medical procedure used by couples unable to conceive children naturally. It involves injecting hormones into the woman’s body to induce ovarian stimulation, and removing a number of her eggs. These eggs are then fertilized by sperm in a test tube in a laboratory, and finally, some of the embryos are chosen and placed inside the woman’s uterus to continue growing in her womb.
For a couple longing for a child and unable to conceive, IVF seems like the answer, but the IVF process has a dark side, a profound ethical dilemma that must be faced by the couple.
What’s the Problem?
The problem with IVF is that lots of embryos are produced during the IVF process with only a few being used, and the remainder being selectively destroyed, or put on ice (cryogenically frozen) for possible use at a later date. It is the routine destruction of many embryos and the ‘leftover’ embryos on ice that creates an ethical dilemma parents must face.
The IVF process affects the embryos in the following ways:
First, many embryos are killed and discarded in the IVF process. The probability of achieving pregnancy per IVF cycle is only about 1 in 3, so doctors remove and fertilize multiple eggs to become embryos, and insert into the woman multiple embryos, knowing its likely just 1 or 2 will survive. In the lab, embryos considered defective are discarded and surplus embryos are discarded at the couple’s request. Millions of human embryos are killed like this each year!
Then, when multiple embryos survive after successfully implanting in the womb, and the woman becomes pregnant with twins, triplets or more, she will often choose pregnancy reduction abortions, to get the number of babies she wants.
‘Leftover’ embryos may also be frozen, put on ice for use at a later date, for example if the first children die. Some are frozen with the parents not sure what to do with them. Embryos may be donated for research, where they will be destroyed, or they may be thawed out and injected into another woman through embryo adoption. If parents neglect to pay storage fees and cannot be contacted the embryos may be destroyed by the clinic
The Uncomfortable Truth Parents must face.
Many families feel reluctant to destroy their leftover embryos, obviously aware that they are human beings – their children, their offspring, their babies! And putting them on ice doesn’t resolve the problem either. In an article titled, “What Should I do with my Unused Embryos?” Anna Hecker wrote;
“In the bowels of Midtown Manhattan, a trio of embryos sit in a vat of liquid nitrogen. They’re the genetic siblings of my sons, Jack and Charlie, the frozen fruits of an IVF cycle completed in 2016 – And I have no clue what to do with them.”
[Emphasis mine]. What a dilemma for parents to face! And I wonder how Jack and Charlie feel about their siblings left on ice, sitting in a vat of liquid nitrogen?
You see, the uncomfortable truth about IVF is that each embryo destroyed or left on ice is a human being! Today, more than ever, medical experts understand that human life begins at conception, the moment two cells combine to become one – when the male sperm unites with the female ovum (egg) resulting in a new and unique set of DNA in a single cell called a zygote.
Dr Micheline Matthews-Roth of Harvard Medical school says; “…it is scientifically correct to say that human life begins at conception.” The US Department of Health and Human Services says; “Your baby starts out as a fertilized egg…For the first six weeks, the baby is called an embryo.” [Emphasis in both quotes mine]
“…it is scientifically correct to say that human life begins at conception.” The US Department of Health and Human Services says; “Your baby starts out as a fertilized egg…For the first six weeks, the baby is called an embryo.” This point is crucial - fertilization is the point a new person comes into existence to grow and mature from within through each stage of life, the first six weeks of which biologists call the baby an embryo. This is why the word abortion is used to end a pregnancy, at any stage after conception. ‘Abort’ means to ‘prematurely end’ something that has already begun!
A Solution to the Problem?
Sometimes people invent ways to ‘get around uncomfortable truths.’ As IVF has developed, so has a new term become popular among specialists in the human reproduction field - pre-embryo. This new term is used for an embryo in the first two weeks, which is also the time when IVF embryos are discarded or frozen.
Pre’ embryo suggests the embryo is not yet human. This allows doctors and parents to make decisions about leftover embryos more easily, without raising alarm or feeling any moral concern. Biologists use the term embryo for the first 6 weeks starting from conception. So, the fact that ‘pre-embryo,’ a non-scientific and misleading term is used by IVF specialists shows just how uncomfortable the truth of IVF is for parents and doctors to discuss.
Lee Silver, talks about this new term and its significance in his book; ‘Remaking Eden: Cloning and Beyond in a Brave New World,’ which I include here:
"[A]nimal biologists use the term embryo to describe the single cell stage, the two-cell stage, and all subsequent stages up until a time when recognizable humanlike limbs and facial features begin to appear between six to eight weeks after fertilization....
"[A] number of specialists working in the field of human reproduction have suggested that we stop using the word embryo to describe the developing entity that exists for the first two weeks after fertilization. In its place, they proposed the term pre-embryo....
"I'll let you in on a secret. The term pre-embryo has been embraced wholeheartedly by IVF practitioners for reasons that are political, not scientific. The new term is used to provide the illusion that there is something profoundly different between… a six-day-old embryo and… a sixteen-day-old embryo.
"The term pre-embryo is useful in the political arena -- where decisions are made about whether to allow early embryo (now called pre-embryo) experimentation -- as well as in the confines of a doctor's office, where it can be used to allay moral concerns that might be expressed by IVF patients.
'Don't worry,' a doctor might say, 'it's only pre-embryos that we're manipulating or freezing. They won't turn into real human embryos until after we've put them back into your body.'"[5]
Still not sure life begins at conception and embryos are human from conception, then read: 41 Quotes from Medical Textbooks Prove that Human Life Begins at Conception.
Acting on a False Reality – Many Christians do it without thinking!
Looking at websites advertising IVF and seeing couples share their IVF joy on Youtube, you will see several ways people respond to the problem of leftover human embryos. For most, the humanity and plight of the destroyed embryos is simply ignored. The IVF process requires you to see children as products to purchase and or throw away or to not ask moral questions at all. The couple hold their new baby boy and share their joy at finally having the baby they longed for. But they both had to sign off for their leftover embryos to be destroyed. So, many couples will simply, or perhaps painfully, turn a blind eye in order to get the baby they want. This must be uncomfortable and many couples undoubtedly sign that consent paper in stony silence!
The issue of discarded embryos is often not mentioned in advertising that couples look at first in their search for IVF treatment, but they will be advised of options and procedures, such as; the couple both must sign in order for the medical facility to destroy their leftover embryos, and if fees for frozen embryos are not paid, then after a certain time and number of attempts to contact the couple, the medical facility may destroy the 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!
Others may 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 underlying 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 lie that embryos in the first few weeks are not human.
He says; “…an embryo doesn’t always transform into a pregnancy or develop into a child…” 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. The embryo and the child are one and the same – the same DNA, the same person - just at different stages of life.
. According to the Mirriam-Webster Dictionary ‘transform’ means; “to change a thing into a different thing, implying a major change in form, nature or character.” This conveniently fits the ‘pre-embryo lie,’ but it does not agree with science!
‘Synonymous,’ according to Mirriam-Webster Dictionary means; “Alike, having the same, being closely connected, one suggests the other.” An embryo is synonymous with a child because, again, they are one and the same person, the same set of DNA, just different in time and stage of development! We even say; ‘She is with child!” and throw a ‘baby shower!’
Claiming that a child’s journey begins when it attaches in the womb 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, his language is misleading. Pregnancy is divided into three stages called trimesters. The first trimester is from conception (when 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!
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 doesn’t 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 based on gender or a genetic abnormality? It is always wrong to kill a baby girl, even if dad wants a baby boy! And, 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 their patients, regardless of gender, age or disability?
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.” In addition, 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, or to apply human rights to one and not the other. It’s not ethically right to produce 9 embryos, but only bring 1 or 2 to birth, then destroy or freeze the other 7 or 8 embryos, or send them for research!
Nor do we 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 not 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 why selecting the gender of your child is also morally wrong, because it commodifies human beings. Even if you create one at a time, it still reduces human life to a product, resulting in a new form of eugenics; making the best babies 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 our desires may seem! IVF is not pro-life as it does not protect, nurture and value human life! It only values those it selects and wants, and routinely destroys or puts on ice the remainder.
Being pro-Life cares for others even at the expense of our own desires! It means we welcome a handicapped child, knowing we will have more work! It means we rejoice 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 an abandoned baby, because that is the right thing to do! It places every life before our own desires and longings, even when that is difficult.
So, what can we do when we can’t conceive?
There are alternatives to IVF that are ethical and effective.
- You could give more time to try and conceive naturally. PreMom is a fast-growing popular app used throughout Asia to help couples get pregnant naturally and quickly.
- More than a million users have gotten pregnant while using Premom! You could explore Restorative Reproductive Medicine (RPM) which is wholly ethical, as it is not life-threatening. For example, Natural Procreative Technology (NaPro) treats infertility as a consequence of some other issue in your body, for example, diet or weight. It treats infertility itself and has an 80% success rate! Talk with your doctor.
- Christians should continue to pray for children, trusting God to bless you with children, in answer to prayer, as with all our desires. But God is sovereign and He decides. Infertility is NOT a result of sin or lack of prayer, but we can ask God!
My wife and I have seen several couples conceive soon after prayer, when they had struggled to conceive for some years. - Often God’s plan for being glorified is through adoption. As John Piper once said, “The gospel is God’s adoption plan.” We imitate that plan through adoption. You could consider adoption, a very loving response to a child’s need for a family.
- And, you could consider embryo adoption. This is not just a good idea, it is the right thing to do. Each embryo is a human trapped in ice! They need rescuing! By adopting them we rescue them from their vulnerable predicament, giving them their lives to live.
Pastor John Ensor, President of Passion-Life Fellowship points this out saying;
“If they are human beings, which they are after conception, then they need to be treated as human beings. We need to treat them the way we would want ourselves to be treated… the Bible calls us to rescue those in trouble.”
And that’s what Pastor John’s daughter and husband did (front page photo), adopting 10 embryos from one IVF couple with the goal to give each of them a chance at life or to die in the sovereignty of God. They now have 3 kids with 3 embryos yet to rescue from the freezer, and “They are all a joy to the family!” Pastor John comments; “This is the moral and practical beauty of what happens when Christians answer the call to rescue.”
An American couple living 10 years in Vietnam also did just that. Here’s their story:
“When we got married in 2015, we were just like most couples that dreamed of starting a family together. However, after four years of trying we found out it would be impossible for us to conceive under natural circumstances. We went through a very difficult season. Was this God's way of deciding for us not to have kids? Should we consider adopting? …we also found it would be very difficult to do traditional adoption… but a friend introduced us to embryo adoption. The more we researched, the more we saw that this was a beautiful solution which God had directed us to. We adopted two embryos, twin girls and both were born successfully. Our daughters truly are a blessing, and we would highly recommend embryo adoption for any families who are considering it.”
In Summary
- IVF conceived human beings are fully human. Nothing in our ethical critique of IVF in any way diminishes the humanity and dignity of those among us, who were conceived by IVF.
- IVF is not an ethical process. It does not look at or treat human life in the earliest stages of development as anything more than a commodity to sell or purchase and it always involves a process whereby human beings in the embryonic stage of development are routinely destroyed or frozen as part of the process. It places a couples’ desire for children above the wellbeing of the human lives created in the process.
- Fertility Awareness and Restorative Reproductive Methods are ethical, treating infertility, like other health issues as something that can be fixed.
- Embryo adoption is ethical. While some within the larger pro-life movement have not agreed, the fundamental rightness of embryo adoption is visible in the recognition that it rescues human lives from an unnatural state of neither living nor dying. And it gives these little ones a chance to be adopted, which God himself shows that he loves, by adopting us into his family. It places the wellbeing of babies above all, without harm to others, while meeting a couple’s hunger for a family. It is a solution to a problem!
Therefore, if you are facing infertility, instead of IVF, we wholeheartedly encourage you to consider embryo adoption instead, an ethical way to build a family and rescue little lives
Check these websites for more information on fertility awareness, treatment and embryo adoption:
- App-based tool to help you get pregnant naturally and quickly: https://premom.com
- Well researched review of alternatives to IVF: https://lozierinstitute.org/alternatives-to-in-vitro-fertilization-ivf-for-overcoming-infertility-and-delivering-a-healthy-baby/
- Embryo adoption: Answer the call to rescue embryos and give them the potential for birth and a loving family: https://www.embryodonation.org/
By David Waters
[1] https://zorahealth.co/locations/vietnam-fertility/
[2] By Anna Hecker. This story was originally published on Nov. 22, 2019 in New York Times Parenting. Also Published April 15, 2020, and Updated Nov. 9, 2021.
[3] Dr Micheline Matthews-Roth, Harvard Medical School: Quoted by Public Affairs Council.
[4] Prenatal Care, US Department of Health and Human Services, Maternal and Child Health Division, 1990.
[5] Silver, Lee M. Remaking Eden: Cloning and Beyond in a Brave New World. New York: Avon Books, 1997, p. 39] This quote was copied from ‘Life Begins at Fertilization.’
[6] Special thanks to Pastor John Ensor, for valuable insights into IVF and prolife, and sharing his family’s story.