Invitro Fertilization
...ped after the passing of forty to sixty hours, with the implantation of the embryo in the woman’s uterus to take place shortly. This stage, being the second last stage in the IVF procedure, is described as embryo transfer (ET) – “the process by which the fertilized ovum is transferred at the blastocyst stage to the recipient's uterus.” (The American Heritage Stedman’s Medical Dictionary). With final blood and ultrasound examinations taking place after the implantation of the transferred embryo, time marks the last stage of the IVF procedure. A couple will then know if the pregnancy was a success or a failure. However, the big question always revolves around the fact whether the church will accept this medical act of life-giving as a benefit to life, or it being repugnant. Because this process involves the fertilization of the egg without sexual reproduction, IVF has generated much public controversy among those with Christian views of procreation and abortion. Some Christians feel that IVF demoralizes the sacred act of procreative sexual intercourse between two married individuals, and in these terms, the “natural law” as well. “Pope Pius XII opposed artificial insemination on the ground that it reduces the sanctity of the family to nothing more than a laboratory exercise. Scripture says that two will become one flesh through the marriage union. Helmut Thielicke, a Lutheran theologian from Germany, has observed that it is through this union that a couple is to be "fruitful and multiply." New life should be created during a loving embrace between husband and wife. Love and life go together. This is the natural order or natural law, which has been designed by God, and humans must respect it. When a physician uses artificial means to bring about fertilization, a third party violates the "two-in-one-flesh" concept. A laboratory has been substituted for a natural environment. To use such a setting for the conception of life is dehumanizing. It places more emphasis on procedures and products than on children, parents, and families. The process could lower appreciation of human life to a point where it would simply be a commodity which can be purchased, like any other material item.” (In-vitro Fertilization: Study and Material and Guidelines, Section 2). Because the church deems that suffering of childless couples may be enlightening on the view of what it means to be human, suffering will always be apparent in life. As a result, infertile couples should accept the fact that they are incapable in bearing a child. They must avoid the possibilities of what science can give in procreating life, since what they can do and what they ought to do are not always the same. It is for this reason that invitro fertilization is rejected by the church. Then again, the bioethical issues involved, in comparison to the church teachings, are not always based on the same level. Bioethics, “a field of study concerned with the implications of certain medical procedures, as organ transplants, genetic engineering, and care of the terminally ill,” (Webster’s Universal College Dictionary) contains many different views as to why IVF is ethical, and at the same time, unethical. In 1994, a certain congress prohibited the federal funding of human embryo experimentation that takes place outside the womb. This policy is based on the belief that blastocysts living outside the womb are live human beings, and therefore, they are entitled in having the right to not be subjected to experimentation without their consent. Along the same line, “medicine does not violate the natural processes in this world; it assists nature. What humans make artificially is, of course, distinguishable from what happens naturally, but the artificial is not necessarily unnatural or against nature.” (In-vitro Fertilization, section 2). People uphold that research is constantly conducted as a way to improve the human life, which in many cases has facilitated those with illnesses. IVF does not violate any restrictions set forth by the Bible when the wife’s egg and the husband’s sperm are used. Rather, it is believed that such a procedure offers the blessing of parenthood for those who want to be parents. However, in much consideration to the moral values in life, other outlooks in having a child should be considered firsthand before advancing to IVF. Not that there are negative feelings about IVF, but most people find that other techniques in obtaining a child may be simpler, cheaper, and offer a more positive success rate. Taken by the view of a Lutheran believer, it says, “The Bible says that God put human beings in the Garden of Eden to work in it and care for it. The only restriction was to avoid eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The devil, through a serpent, tempted Adam and Eve to disobey this restriction. Adam and Eve freely chose to believe the serpent's lie. There is nothing in the story that restricts us in our task of working in the garden. The restriction concerns our relationship with God, not our stewardship of creation. The restriction is on how we relate to God, not on technology.” (In-vitro Fertilization, section 2) By far, invitro fertilization has brought upon many questions concerning the moralities in human affairs. The church has a different view than those of bioethical consents, and on the basis of current research, one could have a view as to why one would believe IVF is necessary. The B...