Social/political foo: IVF

[alpharaposa]

Catholic school teacher fired for using in-vitro fertilization technique to get pregnant.

I've been doing some thinking about IVF. We have this idea of what it's like, but in the debate over embryo stem cell research we found out that there are all these embryos destined for the trash bin sitting around. Where did they come from? From the process of in vitro fertilization. Hundreds of viable embryos as a waste product. For anybody who opposes abortion, this is a catastrophe.

See, they don't just stick one egg and some sperm together to get an embryo. They get as many eggs (using fertility drugs) out of the ovaries as they can, put them with some sperm and let any fertilized eggs develop a little into small embryos. And then they attempt implantation, but that's not always successful on the first try. With the extras, they can keep trying for a while, but eventually they succeed. What happens to the leftover embryos? They get either stored or 'disposed of' in some fashion. If the couple doesn't want them, nobody else will take them. In the effort to create one life, a dozen lives may be created and then literally thrown away. Many people resort to these techniques, creating the hundreds of 'waste' embryos that were the point of contention in the stem cell debate.

That is an amazingly high price to get one baby 'of your own'.

The other points are also very important. In That Hideous Strength, CS Lewis writes of people living on the moon who have 'cold marriages'. They don't have sex with each other- they each lie with copies of the other person instead. They conceive without ever having to touch. Now, if that concept doesn't leave you cold, I don't know what will.

And yet, and yet... that's what IVF is. It's conception without sex. In our society, it's a thing of last resort, but to bioethicists, it's the wave of the future. I don't know how many science fiction settings there are where people who actually have children through regular old sex are weird, but there's plenty.

Once upon a time, I thought IVF innocent- even wonderful. Then I learned what the price is.

Comments

[stryck.livejournal.com]

And so, posting and telling people about what is involved is doing nothing? I didn't even know how IVF worked until I investigated things during the debate over stem cells. How many people never realized? How many people would change how they live their lives if they knew?

Your definition of regret is nihilism. It removes even the impact of changing one's future decisions. It's a giant shrug that dismisses all effort. Even other people's efforts.

Hate is not the opposite of love. Indifference is. You would not only not do anything yourself, but tell others that there's no point in being upset, and so forestall anything they might do. If I or anybody else were to follow your advice, we'd all give up now and never do anything but consume and die.

Even the smallest impact is marked. God numbered the hairs on my head and counts every sparrow that falls. There are other people here already who have chosen not to use this method because of its moral implications. That is not much, but it is not nothing, either. Even the very small things are worth defending and celebrating, as much as the very big things.

[altonwings.livejournal.com]

There is something I came to the conclusion of many years ago, and it essentially can be updated for use here.

"God has given us so much; so much wealth, so much knowledge, so much property and prosperity. When there is a problem and people are in mortal danger, we have the ability to act on it and help. When God calls us forth on judgement day and asks what you did for the least of His people, are you going to tell Him that you blogged about it?"

I don't mean this as a slam against people who cry out to educate others, but that simply can't be enough. If Jesus overturning the money changers in the temple should demonstrate, when something is absolutely important, we must take action. Words can only go so far, and ultimately, the words shared here, you, me, and anyone else--they won't change a thing. Maybe Christians are comfortable only pointing out the errors and evils of the world, but I think God expects better of us, and I think that there is a heavy price to be levied against us when we value buying the latest DVD more than even attempting to save the life of a single human being.

This isn't meant to insult you, so please do not take it that way. I can tell my daughter over and over again that I love her, but that does little good when she needs to eat, or has a very full diaper. God created man to action from the very beginning--it was man's role to tend the garden in Eden. I simply wonder at what point anyone will demand actions from themselves, how many lives must it cost before we--both you and I--are compelled to take action on behalf of those who cannot save themselves. And ultimately, what price must be levied against us for turning our backs on a problem in the hopes someone else will fix it, with the idea that it's someone else's issue. Remember the good Samaritan (my favorite parable). Thinking good thoughts, alerting others isn't enough. You have to make it personal and get involved, or else it is all worthless.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

[stryck.livejournal.com]

And beyond talking to people and persuading them is... what? You've already dismissed voting as an idle activity. That pretty much leaves... killing people or destroying technology.

Yeah, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. "For the children."