I’ve been thinking about in vitro fertilization (IVF) lately. IVF is where fertilization of an egg is done in the lab. I’ve had friends grow up in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) and continue to proclaim the LCMS faith who have either gone through IVF or lamented the health plans of the LCMS don’t cover IVF. I know the desire of wanting to have a child using the same DNA as yourself and your spouse. I also know we can’t perfectly plan when we have children. Honestly, it’s not even promised that Christians will have children at all. I understand why IVF is an attractive option for couples. However, I think it would be beneficial to look at this process and look at some core beliefs of the LCMS. Please note, there may be biological terms in the rest of the article.
To start, consider the teaching of the sanctity of human life. We believe all humans were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). We know humans corrupted the world and that we are all sinful thus destroying that true image of God we used to bear; yet Christ sacrificed himself for our sins (Genesis 3 and Romans 3:23-24). Now, with the Holy Spirit’s help, which we receive in the new life given in Baptism, we try to live a life worthy of the image we once again bear (Colossians 3:10). We are free to live how we would like, yet why would we want to live a sinful life? Instead, with the Spirit’s help, we try to live the life God would want us to live, yet we know there is forgiveness when we fail (Romans 7). Human life is sacred, we are made in the image of God, and that life begins at conception (Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:16, Luke 1:26-38).
Scientifically, we can look at the unfertilized egg and sperm. Each has half a set of chromosomes. When the two meet and become fertilized, nothing short of a miracle happens. The sperm and egg share information instantly and it becomes its own, new, cell. A person is conceived. The egg’s exterior even changes so no other sperm can penetrate. This person is completely genetically coded from hair to toes. Soon, that cell starts dividing as this person continues to grow.
In most healthy pregnancies, the person attaches to the uterine wall and around 40 weeks later a tiny human is outside the womb and able to be seen by others. There are unfortunate circumstances where the human starts to grow in the wrong place called an ectopic pregnancy. These pregnancies are often dangerous for the mother and baby. There are other times the baby doesn’t implant and often the family doesn’t know since the human was so small. In these instances, we trust in God’s grace and mercy that He loves and cares for these children who are so young. We also thank God for loving, Christian parents that read and hear the Word to even the youngest of children. We trust in God’s mercy that we will meet these children in heaven one day.
When couples have trouble trying to conceive (TTC), IVF is an option. There is a range of prices and a variety of guarantees. It is a way to help couples have kids using their own eggs and sperm. It sounds like a wonderful and Godly thing. God commands Adam and Eve, Noah’s sons and their wives, and others to be fruitful and multiply. To fill the earth and subdue it. Surely, God would want couples to have children of their own? Look at barren women like Sarah/Sarai, Rachel, Hannah, and Elizabeth. God gave them children with their husband, some of them even in old age! God also gives us science as a good gift.
Looking at an IVF clinic’s website, we learn about a clinic’s process and good candidates. One sites suggests women over 35 who may have fewer eggs or eggs that may contain chromosomal abnormalities, women where sperm can’t reach the egg or the fertilized egg can’t reach the uterus, women with certain medical conditions, men with a low sperm count so the sperm can’t reach the egg, or those who have recurrent miscarriages or fertility treatment failure are good candidates. The process is: the woman is given medication to help more eggs mature. The woman’s mature eggs are taken out of her body via an outpatient procedure. The father’s sperm (sometimes the husband and sometimes a donor- that’s a different topic) are combined with the eggs. The fertilized eggs are monitored and can be tested for chromosomal abnormalities or specific genetic illnesses. Sometimes, the best eggs are chosen and then fertilized. The doctor then selects one healthy embryo after a few days of monitoring and the embryo is inserted back into the mother.
Replace the words “fertilized eggs” and “embryo” with “humans/human” since we believe life begins at conception and reread the above paragraph. Hopefully, this human continues to grow in regular gestation. In that case, the couple has their baby and everyone is happy.
Some clinics have specialized doctors who talk to one another about which children will “most likely produce the best possible pregnancy.” What about the rejection of those children who have genetic abnormalities or chromosomal differences who were conceived? If the children were older, would this be considered a form of eugenics (arranging human reproduction to achieve certain desirable characteristics)? What about couples who start out with 15 children and end up with 11 viable children? What happens to the other 10? Some of the websites don’t say. The clinics do suggest the children can be frozen and used in the future. These children who are alive and growing are then put into freezers at around-196 C. What about the children who are unwanted anymore because the couple doesn’t want to pay for the storage fee? What about the children who aren’t deemed “most likely” by the doctors? When parents are merciful, these children are frozen until the couple wants another attempt. Other times, the children are put up for adoption. However, “snowflake babies” are rarely given the chance at growing.
The LCMS does support the adoption of snowflake babies. It is considered an act of mercy to adopt and try to give these children a chance to develop and have a full life. In general, IVF is a disregard for human life and often the fifth commandment, “you shall not murder,” is more or less intentionally broken (Exodus 20:13). IVF helps parents play the odds. Doctors create as many children as they can, to help give one (or maybe a few) the best possible chance of survival. Most clinics fail to mention what happens with the rejected children who aren’t frozen. Even so, freezing children for an indefinite amount of time because they are no longer needed breaks the fifth commandment. We are to help and support our neighbor (children), not hurt or harm them. While technically, in theory, not harming these humans, paying for their conception and not giving them a chance at life wouldn’t be supporting them.
There is also a nature of idolatry in this practice. Idolatry is trusting or worshipping something more than God. It’s hard to define where that line is. However, when our desires drive us to the point of murder, no matter how tiny the victim, we should question if that is a line into idolatry.
I know these words may not seem fair for me to say. I have my beautiful babies with my husband. Many couples want the same thing, a baby who shares the genetic make up with them and their partner. Why do some people seem to get all of those blessings while others suffer so much? The only answer I have is sin is both fair and unfair. It is unfair that some people don’t get to live out this desire, that their children are in heaven, or that they don’t have children at all. It is not fair. The only thing fair about sin is that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23). It is a good and Godly thing to want children. It isn’t fair how long it can take and the heartbreak that can come every month.
God understands the heartache. Thankfully, grace isn’t fair either. In Genesis 3:15, He promised He would send a Savior. God would send His own Son to die for our sinful and selfish desires. Adam and Eve put their desires above our Creator and His Word. We do that today. God gives us good things like children and science. As sinful humans, we abuse those good gifts and destroy God’s good creation. We try to ignore consequences by justifying or being blissfully ignorant of our actions. In its current state, IVF helps bring some children to full term, but at what cost? There are an estimated 90,000 humans frozen in the US. That’s about 1.5 times the size of Greenwood, Indiana and that estimate is on the low end. It also doesn’t include the children who were rejected for genetic or viability reasons, the children the parents didn’t pay to keep, or children in other countries. There is a moral dilemma of what to do with these children who are too small to survive on their own. They were wanted, paid for, and possibly even prayed for. Now they sit in freezers until someone may possibly adopt them, even up to 25 years later.
The LCMS teaches that all human life is sacred, even the littlest baby who is one cell large. That is what shapes the LCMS’s view of IVF. Are there ways IVF could be done that possibly support the LCMS belief and uphold the sanctity of human life? Yes, but the process isn’t perfected to that point. Also, some parents don’t want to try to carry all of their children to term, or honestly can’t afford to because it can be an expensive process. While IVF may seem like a Godsend to some, for at least 90,000 children in the United States who weren’t the “best choice” at the time, that isn’t the case. Thankfully, no matter what our decisions are, God will forgive all who repent, whether we were ignorant or malicious at the time.