Reproductive Politics
Recently a young woman asked me about the subject of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and whether it poses ethical concerns for Christians. I am not an expert on assisted reproductive technology, but I have done some study to inform my own conscience on the use of contraception and other forms of reproductive technology. As a pastor I also have the opportunity to think about ethics and applying biblical principles to the issues of life, so I told this young lady I would try to put some thoughts together to answer her question.
Now this issue has become a much more urgent one in 2024, because the Alabama state Supreme Court ruled in February that stored embryos enjoy the same rights as children under an 1872 law. The issue of IVF was immediately thrust into the national spotlight and has been used by Democrats to motivate voters to go the polls. Ads praising IVF as the lone source of hope for infertile couples and threatening that, if elected, President Trump would restrict or even do away with IVF have been shown to millions via television, radio, billboards, and print.1
Turning IVF into a political issue means ethical questions are either ignored or clouded with even more emotional baggage.
When an issue like this becomes politicized, it can become even more difficult to recognize or discuss the ethical issues that it presents. With Vice President Harris claiming that her opponent is “trying to ban abortion nationwide, as they do, and restrict access to IVF and contraception,”2 and President Trump responding on the issue by saying, “We’re totally in favor of IVF,”3 it has almost become a race to see which is the most pro-IVF political party. The truth, even media fact-checkers have acknowledged, is a bit more complicated, but the impact of this being turned into a political issue is that the ethical questions are either ignored or clouded with even more emotional baggage. And anything that involves human reproduction is already going to be fraught with emotion.
Understanding ART
So how can we think about IVF and other reproductive technologies in an unemotional and thoughtful way? Is it possible to balance the concerns and fears of infertile couples with our God-given responsibility to protect and preserve human life? I think it is at least worth the effort. One resource I highly recommend is Dr. Megan Best’s book Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. I read this book in the summer of 2020 and found it to be a thorough and well-documented treatment of the subject of medical ethics in the area of family planning. Dr. Best is a medical doctor and bioethicist who has studied euthanasia, stem cells and cloning, human genetics, and assisted reproductive technologies. She is also a Christian who has sought to address these issues from the perspective of a biblical and theological worldview informed by scientific and medical research.4 It will be helpful to begin by surveying some of the material in chapter 12 of her book.
Best notes that “IVF was developed as treatment for the infertility resulting from damage to the fallopian tubes.”5 The procedure involves taking the man’s sperm and the woman’s egg, putting them together in a petri dish to allow the egg to be fertilized, and then transferring the embryo to the woman’s uterus. From this point normal development can take place. Dr. Best observes, “This use of medical therapy in the presence of disease is appropriate so long as no scriptural principle is violated. Doctors can restore normal function to the reproductive system if they find a fixable problem.”6
But reproductive technologies have come a long way since the 1970s when IVF was first used successfully. These same technologies are being used not just by heterosexual couples who suffer from medical infertility, but also by those experiencing what Best calls “social infertility.” They include “single parents, same-sex couples, and those who could have a child if they wanted to but prefer someone else to do the hard work.”7 Today IVF often involves the donation of sperm, eggs, and even wombs.
The Ethics of IVF
Are there ethical issues involved in any of this? Of course! Psalm 127:3 affirms that children are a blessing from God: “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.” But this blessing cannot be separated from the order of creation in which God made us male and female and said, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28). Creation order is directly tied to the institution of marriage, which is described is the next chapter where God said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).
It seems that the further we move away from the design of creation and the institution of marriage the more problems we encounter.
So while conception and child-bearing should be seen generally as good, we ought to recognize some limiting factors. For example, it may not be good for a single mother to use IVF to have a child with the intention of raising him without a father. And it seems even more problematic for a single father to use IVF and a surrogate to get a child for himself. Both of these involve separating reproduction from the original creation design of a marriage relationship involving both a man and a woman. The same ethical concerns apply to same-sex couples who use IVF to conceive. In those cases donors must necessarily be involved, and this adds to the layers of ethical concern.
In general it seems that the further we move away from the design of creation and the institution of marriage the more problems we encounter. But even within marriage ethical questions are not absent with IVF. For example, sperm collection often involves a man masturbating at a medical facility with the aid of pornographic materials. Other issues surround the use of hormones to stimulate ovulation, as this may increase the chances of multiple gestation (twins, triplets, or more!) which put both the mother and children at increased risk. Then there’s the question of how many embryos should be transferred to the mother’s uterus. If more than two are transferred, the chances of multiple gestation are dramatically increased along with all the risks involved.
These are just a few of the issues which must be considered before pursuing IVF. There are other issues relating to sperm and egg donation, surrogacy, and the problem of preserving sperm, eggs, and embryos, which we will try to address next time.
1This post is not intended in any way to be an argument for or against any political candidate. These are merely observations of the way this issue spread into America’s mainstream consciousness.
2https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/07/18/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-at-a-political-event-9/
3https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-says-father-ivf-recently-learned-rcna175940
4Earlier this year Dr. Best was featured on The Bioethics Podcast of Trinity International University’s Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity. https://www.cbhd.org/podcast/megan-best-fearfully-and-wonderfully-made
5Megan Best, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (Kingsford NSW: Matthias Media, 2012), 325-326.
6Ibid., 326.
7Ibid.