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Infertility, both female and male one, causes unimagined suffering for childless couples. Female infertility is caused by the obstruction of the uterine tube, which is caused by ovarian diseases, thus making ovaries unable to reproduce eggs. At the same time, male infertility results from the failure of sperms to fertilize secondary oocytes due to high temperatures in the scrotum, malnutrition, infections, and x-ray exposure. Today, the problem of infertility can be solved by technologically advanced assisted procedures that help couples have children. The most commonly used technique is In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF). IVF has been successful in producing healthy pregnancies and overcoming infertility since 1978 when the first successful test-tube baby was born; however, this procedure presents various legal, ethical, and social challenges as it contradicts some ethical values, especially Christian ones.

In-Vitro Fertilization

IVF is a reproductive assisted procedure, used to treat genetic and fertility problems by controlling the ovulation process by use of hormones. The name of this procedure comes from the word ‘in-vitro’, which means ‘in-glass’ as a reference to the fact that an egg is fertilized outside a woman’s body in a glass dish; the first successful case of IVF dates back to July 25, 1978 (Gardner Simón, 2017). The process of in-vitro fertilization involves a series of steps. First, the doctors induce ovaries by stimulating them to produce eggs. Then, the specialist retrieves an egg from the vaginal wall and puts it in an incubator. The next step is to fertilize the egg, whereby a sperm sample is secured from a donor and mixed with the egg in the lab. Finally, the doctor transfers the embryo(s) and implants into the uterus of the patient. Normally, women are advised to take 24 hours of bed rest as they wait for an IVF cycle that takes two weeks (Gardner Simón, 2017). The success of conceiving a healthy baby through the IVF procedure depends on some factors such as the woman’s age and reproductive history, embryo status, the cause of infertility, and lifestyle factors. In addition to aiding in conceiving a baby, IVF helps treat genetic and ovulation disorders (Gardner Simón, 2017). Altogether, through modern technology, this procedure enables people, including single women and same-sex couples, to become parents.

Regulations or Laws Governing the Practice of IVF

Regulations and laws that govern Artificial Reproductive Technologies (ART) enable various medical agencies to provide high-quality care to patients. In California and New York, mandatory regulations, covered under CLIA 88, are licensed to regulate ART laboratories under the California Tissue Bank Licensure (Adamson, 2002). Another law in California is the Health Coverage bill SB 172 that ensures that health plans cover surgical, medical, and hospital expenses in infertility treatments (Adamson, 2002). The Life at Conception Act, S 231, and HR 681 implement equal the protection of the life of an unborn and born human being. The Infertility Treatment Care Act, HR 5965, and S 2960 require federal health insurance plans to cover fertility preservation and IVF for infertility treatments (Adamson, 2002). At the same time, the Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act is a mandatory law that requires every ART institute to report annual pregnancy success rates to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Act also allows the Secretary of CDC to enforce procedures and criteria for approving accredited organizations by certifying and inspecting embryo laboratories (Adamson, 2002). In addition, mandatory nonmedical regulations govern how ART centers market and advertise their services. Any clinic seeking to advertise such services should have substantiated clinical data that shows its success rates. Finally, the Occupation Safety and Hazard Act sets strict requirements for employees in the practice of medical practices (Adamson, 2002). Altogether, these regulations and laws provide an oversight for promoting high-quality care, protecting patients’ interests, and ensuring the minimum standards of care, improving research, and establishing national standards at ART centers.

The first test tube baby (conceived through IVF) is Louise Joy Brown. She was born on July 25, 1978, at Oldham and District Hospital in England (Gardner Simón, 2017). Two scientists, Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe, were behind the first successful IVF procedure. At the time of her birth, Louise Joy Brown weighed 5 pounds and was delivered through cesarean section (Gardner Simón, 2017). Her parents, Peter and Lesley Brown, could not conceive a child naturally for many years due to Lesley’s blocked fallopian tubes. Today, Louise is 40 years old and she continues to be a sign of hope for couples who cannot reproduce naturally. Unfortunately, her mother died due to gallbladder infections back in 2012, while her father died in 2007 (Gardner Simón, 2017). Thus, the successful conception and birth of Louise Joy Brown shows that millions of couples can have children with the help of modern medical science.

Arguments for the Use of IVF

IVF is the last option to have a baby for couples who fail to conceive naturally. Doctors believe that women cannot conceive can find hope in IVF. To them, the IVF approach is similar to other fields of medicine that try to find, restore, and fix underlying problems. This procedure is a scientifically and biologically proven method of finding underlying problems in the reproduction process and restoring the woman’s natural cycle by optimizing the conditions to help her become pregnant (Gardner Simón, 2017). At the same time, with the help of IVF, doctors are able to check for inherited diseases by using a special method called the pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. Such a procedure will help to ensure that a child is not conceived with genetic disorders, for example, muscular dystrophy and Huntington disease. The IVF-conceived children will be much healthier, so they will avoid health problems that may affect their future. Moreover, since God plan’s for human beings is to “go forth and multiply to fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28, The New King James Version), IVF actually honors this plan by correcting the mistakes of nature by helping infertile couples conceive children. Thus, Christians should allow doctors to practice IVF as it is the fulfillment of God’s work. On the other hand, same-sex couples and single women who want to become mothers have a great opportunity to have a child. Therefore, IVF will continue to be the best method for achieving successful pregnancies for those who cannot have children in the natural way.

Arguments Against the Use of IVF

The procedure under discussion is widely condemned by Roman Catholicism as unethical and immoral; at the same time, Sunni Muslims, Protestants, Buddhists, Hinduists, and the representatives of Judaism generally accept most forms of IVF. Catholicism considers human life, the person, and sexual intercourse to be sacred. Sex is sacred due to being a great expression of love that joins two human beings for the conception of a child. Children, sex, and marriage are meant to be linked as God has united them (Pope, 2013). Today, this trinity is violated by artificial assisted procedures. For example, in IVF, human conception is done in a fertility clinic rather than during a sacred sexual intercourse. As a result, human life becomes a product with its price. Moreover, God has His own reasons for making some couples infertile. Perhaps, according to His plans, these couples are supposed to adopt a child or avoid parenthood to stay focused on the world or church. When engaging in IVF procedures, these couples go against God’s will, thus merely following their individual wishes. Furthermore, the discarding and killing of low-quality or extra embryos are morally odious acts. Most people would argue that by doing so, doctors kill thousands of aborted babies and unused embryos. Moreover, doctors justify their practices under the IVF laws and regulations that govern embryonic research and abortion. In this case, human life is treated just like a commodity to be sold and be used at will.

Christian marriages are also undermined by the issue of surrogate motherhood. In surrogate motherhood, a mother and father contribute their egg and sperm to fertility clinic, whereby they are mixed to be fertilized and placed into the womb of another woman. Motherhood is a more complicated issue, and although the child is not genetically related to the surrogate mother, intimacy bond develops between her and the child (Pope, 2013). The first woman becomes fully detached from the reproduction process since she does not have a natural bond with her unborn child (Pope, 2013). The latter is reinforced by a casual bond, whereby the child is viewed more of a commodity than a human being, which distorts God’s intention of motherhood. In this context, the womb of the surrogate mother is a rented container for the child. Additionally, same-sex couples do not experience the cultural and biological advantages of nurture, defense, and protection realized by a child from a heterosexual family. Their child will lack an extended kinship bond that is created by pair-bond through parenting. As a result, generations will have a weak mutual caretaking and altruistic bond. Thus, most people think that the IVF process only brings problems since it tampers with the natural order of things.

Conclusion

Any child, especially the one conceived by IVF, is loved, beautiful, and precious to their parent. However, for Christians, IVF is an unethical and immoral act that goes against the natural law and God’s will. Nobody has right to decide the fate of another human life. The IVF procedure will always cause ethical issues, no matter how effectively it is performed since it will continue to cause deaths to the millions of embryos, thereby degrading human life. Furthermore, reproduction procedures continue to medicalize and dehumanize the reproductive process. Moreover, IVF might cause the disappearance of the emotional-physical union between couples. The love between a wife, a husband, and their child is threatened by a fertility clinic. Therefore, it is important to regulate IVF procedures by making them more expensive and by enacting strict laws to minimize the dehumanization acts in fertility clinics. The unresolved issues of embryos should be addressed in legal and social dialogues.