Choosing Life?

We should always allow the authority of Scripture to govern the decisions we make.  The Bible provides principles that we can use to determine the morality and ethics regarding our decision-making, and we should always strive to consider the long-term consequences of our actions.  And, in the arena of health decisions, a respect for the sanctity of life should always be in the mix.  This passage in Psalm 139 can be a source of guidance when we consider the absolute authority of our Creator God:
13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

When we consider that God is the author of life, we must ask what right human beings have to take life in the womb.  The pro-life ministry, Live Action, related this announcement from last week:

President Donald Trump has announced a plan to make in vitro fertilization (IVF) more affordable with employer insurance benefit coverage, along with a deal to lower the cost of fertility drugs.

Though the president's aim is to make the IVF procedure more available and affordable to American families, this could also mean an increase in the number of human embryos that are created and then destroyed or frozen indefinitely.

The article goes on to say: "Despite the belief that IVF is pro-life, it results in the widespread destruction of human embryos and the commodification of children."  Live Action News also states: "In order to increase the odds of a 'successful' pregnancy, fertility doctors typically create multiple embryos — each a unique and distinctive human life — and then often screen out the 'undesirable' embryos, implanting only those that are rated to be the 'best.'"

The Daily Citizen from Focus on the Family echoes these principles, stating: "...the IVF industry routinely and increasingly treats children as products to be bought, designed, screened, stored and discarded."  It relates these facts about IVF:

The article goes on to say:

Focus on the Family affirms the moral and ethical objections to IVF can be reduced in the following ways:

1. If IVF is used only by a married man and woman with no third-party involvement (no donor sperm, donor eggs, or surrogacy).
2. If fertility clinics create only the number of embryos that can be safely implanted in the mother’s uterus at the time they’re created (none are frozen for future IVF cycles, “selectively reduced,” or donated for research).
3. If embryos are not subjected to “grading” to assess an embryo’s potential to successfully implant and grow to live birth (with “unfit” embryos destroyed) or subjected to preimplantation genetic testing (PGT).

Both Live Action and The Daily Citizen mentioned what is called Restorative Reproductive Medicine.  Live Action Founder and President Lila Rose stated, "Instead of promoting an industry that treats human embryos as disposable, the administration should champion Restorative Reproductive Medicine (RRM)—a life-affirming approach that addresses infertility by healing the body, rather than treating the symptom."  The Daily Citizen stated:

Heritage Foundation family policy expert Emma Waters praised the inclusion of restorative reproductive medicine (RRM) in the plan.

“[RRM is] an approach that treats infertility itself by addressing contributing conditions like PCOS, endometriosis, and metabolic health,” Waters said.

“[It] lowers miscarriage rates, enables natural conception in many cases, and ultimately helps bring more healthy babies into the world at a lower cost,” she added. “It’s a model that heals women, restores fertility, and delivers on the promise of both better outcomes and greater affordability.”

This latest development on IVF availability brings to mind the 2024 ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that stated that embryos created in the process of in vitro fertilization are human beings.  After a temporary suspension of IVF procedures, the Alabama Legislature came to the aid of fertility clinics in the state and passed legislation protecting them - without addressing the issue that the high court raised.  There has not been subsequent legislation to protect embryos - tiny human beings - in the state.  This must be remedied. And, it can be. Brad Mattes of Life Issues Institute wrote, "The Alabama Supreme Court didn’t ban IVF, it simply protected the human embryos at the center of this assisted reproductive technology. IVF can be accomplished while respecting innocent human life."  He added, "Alabama clinics need only look to their neighbors in Louisiana for advice. It has protected human embryos during IVF treatment for decades and has more successful IVF births than Alabama."  In another article, Brad Mattes stated:

In the United States today, there are nearly one million babies, often called snowflake babies, kept in frozen cryostorage. Every human life is sacred from the moment of fertilization. These precious babies can be given a chance to be born and live out their lives through a process known as embryo adoption. This can be a great blessing to families on both sides of the equation. Couples who have chosen to pursue in vitro fertilization (IVF) often have multiple frozen fertilized embryos. Rather than leaving these tiny human lives frozen in limbo, they can place them into a loving home. The process of embryo adoption allows the adopting mother the opportunity to carry the pregnancy and deliver the baby herself.

According to The Daily Citizen, President Trump stated: "The initiatives I’ve just announced are the boldest and most significant actions ever taken by any president to bring the miracle of life into more American homes...There’s no deeper happiness and joy of raising children, and now millions of Americans struggling with infertility will have a new chance to share the greatest experience of them all."  

This is certainly an attempt by the Administration to help couples who cannot produce children. But, in the policy-making process, ethical concerns must be addressed.  And, the "creation" of multiple embryos, only to be destroyed if not used, is a moral bridge that should not be crossed.   In an age where there is an aversion to couples producing children and the replacement rate of the population declining, this might seem an attractive initiative.  But, as Lila Rose states, "The administration has made a mistake pressuring and incentivizing employers to offer IVF coverage as casually as they would dental or vision care. This policy normalizes a practice that creates and destroys human embryos, rather than values life from the moment of conception."

This is an issue on which it is important to consider the Biblical and moral implications of the decision.  Couples suffering from infertility face enormous amounts of pressure and emotional distress.  And, there have been many families who have been built through this process, often at great expense, which this new proposal by the President and his team could alleviate.  But, as always, in difficult decisions, we should consult the Scripture, trust God, and allow His Holy Spirit to provide wisdom.