What are Christian views on fertility treatment?

What is it? Medical treatment given to couples who can’t have babies but want them Infertility can happen for many reasons such as the man’s inability to produce sperm or the woman’s inability to produce eggs A couple’s inability to have children is often a cause of great distress

What does the Bible say about Fertility Treatment? Nothing !! Genesis 30 v 1 – “Give me children or I will die” Barrenness was a shameful / disgraceful thing 1 Samuel 1 v 2 – 5 – “Hannah had no children… because the Lord had kept her from having children” Barrenness was seen as the will of God

Christian Beliefs Three important beliefs affect a Christian’s beliefs about these issues God alone is the creator of life God gave humans a soul God created humans in his image

Types of Fertility Treatment IVF - In Vitro Fertilisation AIH - Artificial Insemination by Husband AID - Artificial Insemination by Donor

IVF & AIH In Vitro Fertilisation (‘in glass’) Artificial Insemination by Husband Doctors place the sperm and egg together in a test tube and wait to see if embryos develop Embryos are placed in a woman’s uterus where they can continue to grow To increase the chances of success doctors fertilise more than one egg Spare embryos may result

Christian attitudes to IVF & AIH Many Christians accept IVF and AIH It is right to use medical science to help couples have babies Embryos can be discarded because they are not yet foetuses (it’s an embryo until eight weeks and then it becomes a foetus)

Problems with IVF & AIH Catholics disagree with IVF and AIH because: fertilised embryos are discarded male masturbation is involved which is a sin Many people (not just Christians) are concerned with what happens to those spare embryos

AID Artificial Insemination by Donor Same process as with IVF and AIH but a sperm or egg donor is used Many Christians disagree with AID and call it adultery by another name Using a stranger’s sperm or eggs involves a third party in the marriage

In Summary... Most Christians agree with IVF & AIH Most Christians disagree with AID Catholics disagree with all three

Medical Research Scientists can use embryos to clone human cells Human embryos are studied to find cures for human diseases such as motor neurone disease and Parkinson’s disease Living tissue is implanted in patients to slow down the disease This tissue usually comes from aborted foetuses

Is it Right to use Embryos for Medical Research? Catholics oppose all embryo research Anglicans support it up to 14 days Some Christians support it because it means some good comes out of abortions Human life is denied it’s value and considered a means to an end The embryo cannot give consent

Playing God Christians believe in the Sanctity of Life Life is a gift from God He has created us for a purpose Cloning cells is like playing God In 1966 Dolly the Sheep became the world’s first cloned animal Theoretically it’s possible to do the same for humans

Frankenstein In 1818 Mary Shelley wrote about a scientist who created a monster from parts of dead bodies This was total fantasy then but more of a reality now!

Choosing a Baby’s Sex Using ‘male’ or ‘female’ sperm to fertilise an embryo Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is when a cell is removed from the fertilised egg Sex selection is only permitted to avoid diseases that are linked to a certain sex In Britain it is illegal to select the sex of a child just because the parents want either a boy or a girl

Screening for Disease PGD can be used to avoid having a baby with a disability Embryos are screened to see if they contain a specific disease and then only healthy embryos are implanted This technology is very new and is raising many ethical issues

Baby Created to Save Older Sister In 2000 the Nash family made medical history by having a baby boy who had been selected using PGD to be a perfect tissue match for his very ill older sister His sister suffered from a rare genetic disease so tissue from her new-born brother's placenta was used to restore her to health http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/954408 .stm

Designer Babies Where will screening for diseases lead to? Choosing a child based on hair colour? Choosing a child based on IQ? Choosing a child based on musical ability? Choosing a child based on sporting ability? Choosing a child with a nice personality? Many argue that the sanctity of life is being abused and we are ‘playing God’

Controversy In 2002 a deaf, Lesbian couple deliberately chose to have a deaf child by IVF They used the sperm of a man whose family had a long-term history of deafness They deliberately chose to bring a child into the world with a disability http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/a pr/08/davidteather

Your Turn... Explain what Christians believe about genetic engineering (6) ‘If a couple can’t have children it is because that is the way God wants it” Discuss this statement (12)