The Problems with IVF

Last week, President Trump signed an executive order that expanded access to IVF, or in vitro fertilization. This method of assisting women in having children has often been controversial and morally questionable, although people of faith and even some Catholics feel it is just a way to help families without realizing or considering the consequences of what results from it. It also is a process that violates the natural law of what God intended for procreation: the loving act of marital union between a man and a woman.

IVF involves fertilizing eggs with sperm inside a laboratory and then transferring the embryos to the uterus. This process often creates many embryos at a time and depending on how many the woman wants, the rest are often frozen for an indefinite period of time. According to Lila Rose, the president of Live Action, only 7% of human embryos created by IVF will result in a live birth; the remaining 93% are miscarried, aborted, or frozen indefinitely. That means that over 1,000,000 embryos are frozen in the U.S. so that a limited number of babies can be born to those who want a child. Yes, infertility is heartbreaking and it is natural for a family to want to be able to have and raise their own children. However, IVF ultimately denies the right to life to a lot more babies than it gives life to and it treats children as a product to be sold and discarded, rather than human beings to be valued and cherished. There are also many treatments out there that actually treat the causes of infertility and work to resolve it rather than just act as a bandage.

Another problem with IVF is that it tells women to do anything to eliminate their dilemma and suffering when Jesus Himself told us “Whoever wishes to come after Me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have children of your own and exploring other fertility treatments that could actually help with infertility. However, IVF sacrifices the lives of many children and that is not worth setting aside the cross of infertility. And if money is a hindrance and other treatments end up not working, then infertility is the cross that Jesus has intended for you and in order to follow Him, you must unite this cross with His and suffer with Him. There is also the option of adoption, which can be incredibly rewarding and gives a permanent family to those children who might not otherwise get one.

The confusion and misinformation surrounding IVF is not totally the fault of those who support it and it is the job of those who are informed to get the word out about the truth and to pray for those who support it. The Church also has an obligation to be more vocal about this and other moral issues when they arise in society. Unfortunately, there was immediate uproar from the Vatican and the USCCB regarding the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown (which Church teaching actually supports for the security of a nation), but nothing from anyone following the IVF order. Let us pray for our leaders, both in the Church and in our country.