Monday, July 20, 2015

A Biblical Theology on the Use of Donor IVF for Christians: God's Yes to Donation in the Face of Infertility

The Bible does not and cannot possibly address all of the ethical dilemmas we face today in the 21st century.  However, that does not mean that the Holy Spirit is not continuing to "lead us into all truth" (John 13:16) just as Jesus promised. And there are a surprising number of passages in Scripture where, when the spirit of the text is faithfully applied, it can give us some potential insights into the issues of the day. I believe one such issue is the question around the use of donor IVF to treat infertility today. I know many question IVF as ethical for Christians and the Roman Catholic Church has condemned it as immoral regardless of whether donors are used. I have yet to see anyone take a serious look at the Bible however in addressing this question, but I believe Scripture is clear that donor IVF is acceptable for Christians.  Let's address the issues of IVF first however.

While some practices in IVF are indeed ethically questionable, it is not inherently so.  As long as there is a plan in place to give every embryo that develops a chance at life, it can actually be a great gift to infertile couples and, I truly believe, a blessing from God. Couples have the ability to control what happens to their embryos when they undergo IVF.  Just as the majority of eggs fertilized in the womb (in vivo) will never become children because they do no successfully develop and/or implant (50-80%), so the majority of eggs fertilized in vitro will never become children for the very same reasons.  But for those that do develop in vitro and have the potential to successfully implant, they can either be used by the couple (not transferring more than would be reasonable to birth and raise at one time) or be given away/donated to infertile couples. The waiting lists for donor embryos are very long and there is no shortage of infertile couples wanting to accept/adopt donor embryos. Couples can also control how many eggs are fertilized and not fertilize more than they plan to transfer.

Assuming then that a couple undergoing IVF does so in an ethical way and ensures that all their embryos are given a chance at life, then there is is no reason why IVF should be prohibited on moral grounds.  Sometimes a donor is needed in IVF however- either a sperm donor or an egg donor due to medical problems with a spouse. Is it possible that God could use this as a means to bless an infertile couple with the gift of a much longed for child?

We already view organ and tissue donation as a gift, a sacrifice to assist others in great need - what about egg and sperm donation?  In this case a donor is donating their tissue (sperm or eggs) and while this tissue carries with it a genetic blueprint of the donor, the recipient is the actual mother: she carries, produces, births and raises the child. It is truly hers (and her spouse's) child legally and otherwise, regardless of the genetics.  There is no question or fuzzy lines here.  Intention matters: donors do not intend to be parents but desire to gift another couple to take on this role and be the parents of any child produced. The role of a donor is that of a helper...helping another couple in need. The doctors, nurses, staff, embryologists, etc. are all helping and contributing something to help the infertile couple in this process.  If you ask a couple who has been given the gift of a child through a donor, you will know that the donor is viewed as "angel" - a gift from God that allowed them to carry and bring their child into the world...and this is the greatest gift imaginable- it is the gift of life, a child of God.

So what light does the Bible shed on this subject?  In ancient times, before pregnancy "in vitro" (outside the body) was possible, what can only be described as donors were used regularly and this was clearly blessed by God in Scripture.  In Genesis 29 Jacob marries both Leah and Rachel and initially Rachel is infertile while Leah is not. Rachel is so distressed that she says, "Give me children or I shall die!"(30:1). Jacob is angered by this but Rachel gets a donor to assist them by offering her servant Bilhah  to Jacob (30:3) so that she can give birth on Rachel's behalf. Bilhah is both an egg donor and a surrogate in this case, and she bears a son on Rachel's behalf. Rachel names the boy Dan (which means "God has given me a son").  Rachel soon seeks to have a second child through Bilhah who conceives and bears another boy for the couple whom Rachel names Naphtali.

Her sister Leah then experiences secondary infertility and determines to bear more children for Jacob through the use of a donor as well using her servant Zilpah who conceives and bears two boys named Gad and Asher (30:9-13) by Leah.  And in case you haven't noticed, these 4 boys, all born via donors on Leah and Rachel's behalf, also become 4 of the sons of Jacob through whom the 12 tribes of Israel are born!  God makes no distinction between the sons born of Rachel and Leah biologically/directly and the sons born to them through their servants who act as donors and help them build a family in the face of infertility.



As an aside, thanks to modern technology, donors no longer need to have intercourse in order to donate their eggs or sperm---it is all done without the intimacy of sex in a laboratory, which is surely better on a marriage. Additionally, we ought to recognize that God's own Son was born of a virgin, and so apparently conception can and does occur in some irregular ways as a means by which God offers us tremendous blessings. According to the Bible, with God...there IS more than one way to conceive and bear children.

If we believe that God is the author of all life and that God has blessed couples with children through donors in ancient times, we can give thanks to God for blessing couples with children through donors today. The end result of a child born via donor IVF is a child that is intensely wanted and will be nurtured and loved by a couple that otherwise would never have the opportunity to carry, birth, and raise a child of their own.  We ought to thank and praise God that this option exists today and that God can use modern medicine and technology to bring healing and new life in so many amazing ways.

"God gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother. Praise the Lord!"  - Psalm 113:9


This topic is important to me because my husband and I were diagnosed with infertility for medical reasons and were offered assistance through the use of donor embryos. I had to pray about it for quite awhile and ask God for guidance as I read through Scripture. I felt lead, oddly it seemed at the time, to read the book of Genesis during my search and was absolutely struck by the story of Rachel and Leah. I have never seen anyone lift this story up as one way infertility is handled so very clearly in the Bible. There are other examples that are similar (like Hagar and Ishmael), but I believe God gave us our answer through this passage most clearly. My husband and I welcomed a baby boy through the gift of embryo donation in mid 2013 after suffering for 5 years with infertility and 8 consecutive miscarriages. I give thanks for our donors and the doctors who helped us.  Our son is and always will be a blessing from God.  




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