A recent Alabama Supreme Court decisions has ignited a passionate discourse about the morality of in-vitro fertilization (IVF), and pro-life Christians stand on either side of the debate.
The case centers on a wrongful death lawsuit that was brought against a fertility clinic in 2020 after the embryos of a couple using the clinic’s IVF treatment services were accidentally destroyed. The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that the suit has valid grounding, since an embryo is a human life. Many pro-lifers are hailing the ruling as a victory.
Nevertheless, the precedent this ruling sets has implication well beyond this specific case, and fertility clinics have discontinued their IVF services for fear of legal exposure. If embryos are to be treated as humans, then fertility clinics could face civil or even criminal charges for destroying them, something that is a regular practice in IVF treatments.
On this episode, we explore the moral complexities involved with IVF and other reproductive technologies. How can Christian think through these questions in a way that is theologically informed and compassionate toward potential mothers, as well as their future children?
RELATED RESOURCES
READ: Why Being Pro-Life Doesn’t Make You Anti-Woman
READ: How to Approach the Abortion Conversation
READ: The Christian Case for Paternity Leave
LISTEN: Pro-Life or Abortion Abolitionism: Who’s Right?
REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
AP News: Warnings of the Impact of Fertility Treatments in Alabama Rush in After Frozen Embryo Ruling
“Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics” by Scott Rae
