March for Life was this year’s celebration of Roe v. Supreme Court. It also celebrated Wade’s decision to be overturned. Following that, the movement shifted its focus away from Wade to the legislature, which continues to face fierce battles. Roe has been overturned, and new battlefronts are being created to fight for Life. In vitro fertilization is an important battleground. This is where the egg is fertilized using sperm from a laboratory and not the woman’s body. The embryo that is created is then transferred to the biological mother or surrogate. IVF is problematic for those who believe that human Life begins at conception.
Preliminary CDC data shows that 449 reporting clinics in America performed 326,468 assisted reproductive tech (ART) cycles in 2020. This resulted in… 79.942 live births. This is about 2% of all births in America. More than a million IVF-treated babies have been born to date. Another million embryos have been frozen. Roe is gone and the battle to save lives continues. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a key battleground. This is when the egg is fertilized in a laboratory with sperm instead of in the woman’s body.
Let’s talk about the destruction of the fetus. IVF is a viable option for infertile couples, singles, and couples with same-sex partners. Multiple embryos are created by doctors to increase the chances of success. They then screen them for any genetic defects or physical characteristics and destroy the “unfit”. The rest of the embryos can be implanted or frozen.
Many reasons can be attributed to embryo freezing. It is possible for men and women in each case to delay the natural process of having children. Stories of embryos being created in 1992 and then not being born 30+ years later are becoming more common. But most people don’t know that only 53 percent of frozen embryos give rise to live births.
IVF does not accept children as gifts. It treats them as products that can be sold, bought, or designed. Preimplantation genetic testing (PGD), is the most popular method for genetic testing. PGD is used to test for single-gene conditions such as Down syndrome and sickle cell disorder. This test can also be used for testing non-medical traits, such as fetal sex, skin color, eye color, and hair color. 92% of ART centers offer PGD. They clearly offer it to help with gender selection in 73 percent.
Doctors routinely remove embryos from parents who suspect they have unwanted traits after testing. If the parents are expecting a boy, the female embryos will be ejected. Cystic Fibrosis patients and their embryos will also be subject to the same fate.
This process is taken one step further with genetic modification. PGD selects embryos from the best combinations of natural elements and tests them. Editing can alter the embryo’s makeup. You can use it to modify a fetus’s IQ, ability, or susceptibility for disease. The possibilities are limitless as technology improves.
IVF babies are more susceptible to minor birth defects, such as autism, cancer, and deformities of the palate. Oliver O’Donovan, the biologist, says there’s a “world between accepting the risk that a disabled child will be born (where nature imposes it) and taking on that risk in order achieve one’s goals. There is a big difference.
What message will we send to the next generation of children? Are we going to love our children for who they are? Will they learn to love their parents because they chose them as a desirable child? Parents should not be able to subordinate their wants to their children’s well-being if they are part of a culture that values Life and protects it. Even children who don’t yet exist. IVF is not considered pro-life as it is practiced today. Many of the methods and practices used today are detrimental to the integrity preborn children.
IVF doesn’t accept children as gifts. Instead, it treats them like products to be purchased, sold, or designed. Even worse, IVF destroys embryos it deems not good enough. Pro-life principles prohibit any act that causes the death or destruction of innocent human Life, even at its most basic stages.