I came across this very intersting post by Dr. Russell D. Moore, the author of Adopted for Life - a very good book by the way. In it, he was exploring the issue of adopting frozen embryos that were "left over" from in vitro fertilization. (IVF) His comments were insightful and thought provoking. Moores says,
"Someone can donate sperm or ovum or even a heart or a liver, but no one can “donate” an “embryo.” No one can “own” an “embryo.” An “embryo” isn’t a thing; he or she is a “who.” Our Lord Jesus is the pinnacle of the image of God (Heb. 1:1-3). He was an “embryo” (Luke 1:42-43). The “embryonic” John responded to our Lord’s “embryonic” presence in precisely the same way he responded to his adult presence on the banks of the Jordan River.
These so-called “snowflakes” are brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus are stored in cryogenic containers in fertility clinics as the “extras” of IVF projects. They already exist, and they already exist as persons created in the image of God.
And there are Christians called to adopt them, to bring them to birth through pregnancy, and to raise them in love. To be sure, the numbers of children who can be adopted in this way are a microscopic percentage of the whole. And the numbers even of those who can be safely brought to birth is even smaller."
I was also very impressed with the intelligent and thoughtful repsonses to his post by his readers (I would encourage you to read them all, they were as infomative as the post!!) Here is one:
"Dr. Moore,Thank you for touching on the subject of violation of the one-flesh relationship…I am wrestling with whether sperm/egg ‘donation’ is permissible or a violation of the principle of marriage. While I lean toward it being a violation, I want to be careful that I don’t place a burden of sin on a situation where there is no sin, yet don’t want to sweep it under the rug if it is sin, either. I’m actually working on a post about this subject for my blog, and praying for wisdom on this matter." - Stephanie
Honestly, I have never thought much, or read anything on this subject, so I found this to be a very interesting topic that I clearly need to learn more about. If you have any suggestions for further reading or research please let me know! I'd be very, very grateful.
Click here to read his entire post along with reader comments.
Thank you for bringing embryo adoption to light! We are both mothers to adopted embryos! City Jen just gave birth to twin daughters through EA and Country Jen is currently 22 weeks pregnant with her miracle daughter!
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Hi - I'm actually 'RachL' on the Holt BB and my cousin and her DH is actually in the process of adopting embryos! They've been 'chosen' by a family and are getting ready for the 'transfer'. Feel free to PM me on the Holt BB and I can forward her info to you. (her blog has a lot of links to other families who have adopted embryos, or are in the process of)
ReplyDeleteI think it's so neat that you brought this subject up as there are SO many different types of adoption, and I, for one, never heard of this until my cousin told me about it. :)
Thanks for the comment. I pray it won't take long. Hopefully with all the visa physicals being done at once that it does not delay us because everyone is trying to finish up for traveling. Here's to traveling soon ,friend!
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