Skip to main content

World's first test-tube baby: 3 ethical dilemmas



NOTE: For more on today's subject, see my essay, "Genetic Medicine: Ethical Imperatives and Challenges," on our website.

On July 25, 1978, Lesley and John Brown of Oldham, England brought their first child into the world, a little girl named Louise Joy.  Why is the world remembering Louise on her birthday?  Because she was the world's first "test-tube" baby.

Actually, she was conceived in a Petri dish through a process that came to be known as "in-vitro fertilization" (IVF).  Her mother had blocked fallopian tubes, so doctors united her egg with her husband's sperm to produce an embryo, which they then implanted in her womb.  The process was experimental 37 years ago; more than five million couples have since conceived children in this way.

Since infertility affects 7.3 million people in the U.S., or one in eight couples, assisted reproductive technology (ART) is a tremendous medical advance.  It raises enormous ethical questions, however.  Here are three common questions and my responses:

1: Are doctors playing God?  Since God is the author of life (Genesis 1:26-27), some believe that any medical procedures which interfere with natural conception are unethical.  In my view, this objection could call all medical procedures into question.  If we use technology to treat people after they are conceived, can we not use technology to help them be conceived?  Is not IVF another example of medical knowledge God enables and uses for his glory and our good?

2: Does IVF favor the wealthy?  One cycle of IVF, including medications and all procedures, costs between $12,000 and $20,000.  Using a donor egg or surrogate mother can raise costs another $20,000 to $60,000.  While many states require insurers to offer coverage for infertility diagnosis and treatment, these costs can still make IVF unavailable to some couples.  This situation is regrettable, of course, but similar to many other medical procedures.

3: Is this eugenics?  Now we come to the hardest question.  PGD enables couples to know if their IVF embryo is a boy or girl, and if it has Down syndrome or a variety of other heritable diseases.  As genetic testing advances, will doctors be able to determine the intelligence and athletic aptitudes of an embryo?  Will IVF become common even for couples who can conceive naturally?  Will this be a form of eugenics?  My position is that IVF should be used only by couples who cannot conceive naturally, and that they should implant every embryo doctors produce.

What are your thoughts on this difficult subject?  Please share them in our comments section.  And know that, however you were conceived, you are the miraculous creation of God.  He knows your name (Exodus 3:4) and counts the hairs on your head (Luke 12:7).  He thinks about you more often than the number of grains of sand (Psalm 139:17-18).  He made you and loves you today.

Hold a $20 bill in your hand.  You can fold it in half, but it's still worth $20.  You can crumple it up, or put it through the washing machine, or stomp on it, but it's still worth $20.  Why?  Because its creator, the U.S. government, says it is.

Your Creator says your eternal life is worth the crucified death of his Son.  Do you agree?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

La amistad: Ayuda para la santidad

Leer | JUAN 15.12-15 20 de julio de 2012 Cuando Dios creó todo, solo una cosa no tuvo su aprobación. Miró a Adán, quien era el único ser en su clase, y dijo: “No es bueno que el hombre esté solo” (Gn 2.18). El Señor creó a las personas para que tuvieran compañerismo emocional, mental y físico, de modo que pudieran compartir su ser más íntimo unas con otras. Jesús explicó esto a sus discípulos, diciéndoles que debían amarse unos a otros tal como Él los había amado. En una amistad que honra a Dios, dos personas se edifican mutuamente y se animan una a otra a tener un carácter como el de Cristo. Sin embargo, muchas no logran entablar y mantener relaciones que estimulen su fe (Pr 27.17). Lo que hacen es hablar trivialidades propias de simples conocidos: el clima y los asuntos mundiales. Lamentablemente, también los creyentes rehúyen la conversación profunda en cuanto al pecado, la conducta transparente y la vida de acuerdo con los parámetros bíblicos, que servirían para enriquecer ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Danger in Being a Christian: It began as a Jewish sect; fierce persecution only helped it spread

Acts 8 Acts 8:1 On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. In some countries, a person who becomes a Christian forfeits a good education and job. And in a few countries, a person who converts risks his or her life. One church historian estimates that more Christians were martyred in the twentieth century than in all preceding centuries put together. Yet, strangely, more often than not, intense persecution of Christians leads to a spurt of growth in the church. An ancient saying expresses this phenomenon: “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.” The First Big Advance For a while, the new faith enjoyed popular favor. But very soon it involved grave risk. In the book of Acts, the persecution that produced the first Christian martyr, Stephen, ironically brought about the advance of Christianity outside its Jewish base. Forced out of stormy Jerusalem, the scatterin...
Post a Comment
Read more

In His Eyes

July 23, 2012 Mary Southerland Today's Truth I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be ( Psalm 139:14-15 , NIV). Friend to Friend It was my first day of teaching second grade. While standing at the classroom door, greeting parents and children, I felt a tug on my skirt. I looked down into the beautiful blue eyes of Sammy, one of my new students.  His mother, who was standing beside Sammy, looked at me and said, "I guess you've heard about Sammy.  Good luck!" As she walked away, Sammy said, "She's right. I'm dumb and mean and can't read or write."  Lisa was a tall, blonde and beautiful young woman with zero self-confidence. Lisa was...
Post a Comment
Read more