Christian Views About IVF

The Albama (a State in the USA) Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos should be considered children has caused ripples in the American circles of thought; wrestling with a bunch of glaring realities about fertility, medicine, law and politics.

The Court’s Chief Justice Tom Parker wrote in his opinion, “However, life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring wrath of a holy God”. The decision involves Christian theology also. Andrew Walker in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary said, “The Albama decision is a very morally honest opinion”. He said, “The ruling showed the direct line of reasoning between belief that life begins at conception and opposition to abortion and IVF”.

He added that when he had considered bringing a resolution about artificial reproductive technology at the Southern Baptist Convention, the country’s largest Protestant denomination, colleagues and friends showed a hesitated reaction. Catholics and the Protestants differ on the morality of in vitro fertilization(IVF). While Catholic teaching clearly forbids it, Protestants having a liberal theology do not subscribe to papal primacy as there is no papal structure needing a shared document.

Catholic Church, perhaps the largest institution in the world, opposes IVF holding that nearly all modern fertility interventions are morally disallowed. Conservative Christians believe that life begins at conception which goads them against anti abortion policies. Such bent of mind amongst the most ardent abortion opponents has cemented their unrelenting opposition to IVF.

During 1/2024 Pope Francis condemned surrogacy as despicable and pleaded for a global ban on the practice. He told that an unborn child should not be turned into an object of trafficking.

Though most Conservative Christians do not have on their surveillance the bioethics of IVF as a subject, Joseph Meaney, President of The National Catholic Bioethics Center told that marital act of sex must be performed for conception and the embryo must not be subjected to different indignities being poked and prodded by scientists.

He further added that in case of infertility some assistive technologies might be used instead of replacement ones. He underscored the vitality of sex in Catholicism as holy act exclusively for a husband and a wife who wanted children. Evangelicals, a sub-group of Protestants, predominantly with a moderate Conservative Theology rely on literal readings of Bible and not experienced Catholic social philosophy.

In Bible where there are said to be ‘yes/no’ opinion about IVF, Evangelical and the Catholic groups have coalesced over the shared conservative political beliefs. The politics in America is likely to reshape Evangelical belief and practice regarding IVF.

The IVF treatment includes many elements the Catholic Church opposes, with masturbation taken as an offence against chastity, which according to catechism or teaching is often required for collection of semen.

There is also fertilization of ovum and sperm outside the woman’s body sans sacramental conjugal act of mating between the spouses. There is creation of many embryos that are often destroyed or not implanted which is tantamount to abortion. Pastors seldom preach on fertility but on abortion. Emma Waters- a research associate at the Heritage Foundation hopes that Evangelical pastors will aware their Churches of the technological reasons to oppose IVF as do Catholics. She sees ample inclination with younger Evangelicals who oppose hormonal birth control and the manner technology penetrated their lives.

Evangelical viewpoint has constructed a public distinction as pro-family & pro-children and many followers take IVF positively for it creates more human lives. Many Christians use contraception in defiance of church ruling except adherents whose opposition to IVF is an element of ecosystem of beliefs about marriage, sex and family. In response to world’s first test-tube baby born in England in 1978 came the church’s first major statement against IVF. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who aspired to become Pope Benedict XVI, wrote about fertility technologies including surrogacy, IVF and artificial insemination.

Kristan Hawkins, President of Students for Life while opposing abortion said, “IVF is literally a business model built on disposable children and treating children as commodities”. Infertility affects millions of couples across the world making IVF treatment and access to it a global concern. Roman Catholics totally reject assisted reproduction while Anglicans, Coptic Christians and Protestants accept most of its forms. Orthodox Christians are not as strict as Catholics but still refuse third party involvement.

A married couple resorting to IVF is innocuous if  human embryos are not destroyed in the process. Smorgasbord of developments regarding marriage, birth, divorce and death are largely affected by religious beliefs. Some, ergo, believe IVF is not a natural procedure. Others say that children are normal but unnatural.

This being the beginning of reproductive technologies, world will have to handle a volley of   would be issues that challenge imagination. This divergence of views creates enough scope and necessity for  studying other religious views including Islam for a respectable human race.

The author is a former Sr. Audit Officer and Consultant in the A.G’s Office Srinagar.