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Beginning and Ending Life
the product of surrogacy, AID, or IVF. Initial research, though far from com
plete due to the relatively limited data available, supports this objection. In
reply to this argument, some point out that once such technology is common
place, there will be no stigma attached to these children. Indeed, while the
first children born via IVF received a great deal of publicity, hundreds since
then have been born in virtual anonymity. Researchers do not really know
how these children will cope with the knowledge that they were conceived in
a laboratory.
A more serious objection relates to children who were conceived with the
sperm or egg of a donor, whether through IVF, ET, or surrogacy. Initial
research suggests that some “products” of such technology have felt that
they were abandoned and betrayed by their biological parent(s), leaving
them with feelings of confusion and “lostness.” The privacy of the donors,
protected by infertility clinics, has made it nearly impossible to track down
the biological parents. This can create problems when children need to know
their genetic heritage for medical reasons.
While opinion is divided over the use of some reproductive technologies,
ethicists tend to agree that surrogacy is improper except in such cases as that
of Arlette Schweitzer. Many, perhaps most, evangelicals rule out AID on the
basis that it breaks the important unity in marriage and family relationships
(a third party—the donor—invades the sacred marriage union), and because
of the potential psychological problems for the child.
There are mixed opinions on IVF, however. Perhaps the most critical
concern has to do with the procedure itself. It is commonplace in IVF to pro
duce several embryos (preferably three). Once this is done, either several
embryos are placed in the woman’s uterus so that there is a better chance of
pregnancy, or some embryos are frozen in case the initial procedure fails. In
the first case, if two or more fetuses develop, there is a chance that not all
will survive birth. To increase the chances of a healthy pregnancy and birth,
one or more of the developing fetuses is sometimes aborted (a process
known as “selective reduction”). In the case of frozen embryos, if the first
trial is successful, the couple faces the question of what to do with the
remaining embryos. Will they be used later for another pregnancy, or will
they be destroyed? Are they human beings? Can we justify the experimenta
tion with and the destruction of thousands of embryos—incipient human
lives—for the sake of knowledge? What price have we paid to develop our
current technology? If we agree to use IVF today, are we condoning the
research that has made it possible?
In his discussion, evangelical theologian and ethicist Stanley Grenz con
siders a wide range of issues. He not only provides a fuller evaluation of IVF
and other procedures than does McDowell, but he also looks at the more
foundational question of technological assistance in reproduction and two
alternatives to assisted procreation: adoption and remaining child free. Not