The Disgrace of Infertility

By: Nate Pyle
Originally posted on his blog: http://natepyle.com/the-disgrace-of-infertility/

This Christmas I preached through the Christmas story as told by Luke. For all the times I’ve read the story, I’ve never noticed this small line hidden in the middle of the Christmas narrative. But this year was different. This year, that small, innocent line refused to go unnoticed and forced me to see it.

After Elizabeth became pregnant with John, she praised God saying, “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

We know that disgrace. My wife knows that disgrace. I know that disgrace.

Infertility.

No, it isn’t the same type of disgrace that Elizabeth experienced. In that day, an inability to bear children was equated with sin. It was assumed that the reason for barrenness was your own doing. You must have done something. You must have something to repent of. Some sin you committed. Some reason God was withholding his blessing from you.

You.

You created the problem by your disobedience, and now God is punishing you.

Thankfully, the shame of disapproving eyes and rumored gossip doesn’t surround infertility in America anymore. But shame still exists.

Embryo Adoption on 'The Katie Show'

"The Katie Show" recently featured a special segment focusing on embryo donation and adoption. Two stories of embryo adoption were shared including Dan and Kelli Gassman and their 9-month old son Trevor.  Guests also included Dr. Robin Poe-Zeigler, their Reproductive Endocrinologist, and Kimberly Tyson, Marketing and Program Director for the Embryo Adoption Awareness Center. Please click here to see the full broadcast.

A Snowflake Is Born - Zoe's Story

Zoe Annadelle Johnson was born on November 9, 2012, but her life began 3 years before that. Zoe was one of six embryos created on May 8, 2009 through the use of In-vitro fertilization (IVF). When she was 5 days old she was frozen. God had big plans for these tiny, unique, pre-born “snowflake” babies.

Embryos #1 and #2 were chosen to be transferred to their biological mother. Both embryos implanted and nine months later they were blessed with the births of a son and a daughter. With their family of four completed, their attention quickly shifted to the fate of the four frozen embryos waiting for their chance to be born.

Zoe’s biological parents were presented with the standard options for her future as a “extra” embryo: destroy them, donate them to scientific research (which would then destroy them), anonymously donate them to an infertile couple, or find a family to adopt and carry them to term. Reflecting on their belief that life begins at fertilization, they quickly realized that destroying them or donating them to research would terminate the precious life that had been created. The fate of the remaining embryos weighed heavily on their minds and hearts for two years until they connected online with Charis & Duffy Johnson in the fall of 2011.

About 170,000 IVF Embryo Deaths Per Year in the U.S.

NEW YORK, November 22, 2002 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A study in the current issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility, the official journal of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, boasts that artificial fertility techniques have become more effective over the years.  The author of the study, Dr. James P. Toner, of the Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine in Woodstock, Georgia, writes that the rate of births per IVF attempt at pregnancy has increased from 10% to 30% from 1985 to 1999.  However, a look at the government statistics Toner used in his analysis reveal that approximately 170,000 human embryos created in 1999 (when the practice became more effective according to Toner’s analysis) died in the process of attempting to conceive a child viain vitro fertilization.

The statistics from the Centers for Disease Control indicate that in 1999, some 21,501 children were born using assisted reproductive techniques (ART).  In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) accounts for 73.5% of the ART methods.  In order to achieve the 21,501 births, 86,822 ART cycles were reported wherein on average 3 embryos are transferred per cycle.

See the Reuters coverage of the study:  http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20021120/hl_nm/reproduction_success_dc_2   See the CDC stats on the 1999 ART report:  http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/drh/ART99/section1.htm

Frozen Embryos: Biotech's Hidden Dilemma PART 3 of 3

Ron Stoddart, director of Nightlight Christian Adoptions, a nonprofit that facilitates Christian adoption, David Cook, a Wheaton College bioethics expert, and Ellen Painter Dollar, the author of a forthcoming book about Christian perspectives on reproductive and genetic technology, weigh in on what should be done with frozen embryos left over atfertility clinics.

First, Help Couples

Christians need much better resources for ethical and theological reflection.

by: Ellen Painter Dollar

Our oldest daughter inherited from me a disabling bone disorder called osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). When she was 2 years old and living through a harrowing cycle of broken bones, we underwent pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in an attempt to have a second child who would not have OI.

PGD is in-vitro fertilization (IVF) with the added step of genetic screening. Only one of four embryos tested negative for OI and was implanted, but I did not get pregnant. (We eventuallyconceived both our second and third children naturally; neither of them inherited OI.) We had the other three embryos destroyed. We made that decision with little reflection, in the emotional muddle of caring for a broken toddler while undergoing a strenuous procedure loaded with tough questions.

Frozen Embryos: Biotech's Hidden Dilemma PART 2 of 3

Ron Stoddart, director of Nightlight Christian Adoptions, a nonprofit that facilitates Christian adoption, David Cook, a Wheaton College bioethics expert, and Ellen Painter Dollar, the author of a forthcoming book about Christian perspectives on reproductive and genetic technology, weigh in on what should be done with frozen embryos left over at fertility clinics.

Take Responsibility for Embryos

There are no ideal scenarios, but we must work for a solution.

by: David Cook

Before we can set significant guidelines regarding the fate of unused, frozen human embryos, we must ask: Who is responsible for them? Since embryos cannot make decisions, who gets to decide whether they will be donated, adopted, or destroyed?

Parents decide for their children, and families decide what will happen to an unconscious or dying family member.

Good fertility clinics will have clear protocols protecting the rights of parents and donors. The embryos in question were created to help the childless, so adopting or donating fulfills the same goal for the benefit of the child and the childless.

But parents are not the only ones who need to take responsibility.

Frozen Embryos: Biotech's Hidden Dilemma PART 1 of 3

Part One by: Ron Stoddart
Originally posted by Christianity Today, July 28, 2010

Ron Stoddart, director of Nightlight Christian adoptions, a nonprofit that facilitates Christian adoption, David Cook, a Wheaton College bioethics expert, and Ellen Painter Dollar, the author of a forthcoming book about Christian perspectives on reproductive and genetic technology, weigh in on what should be done with frozen embryos left over at fertility clinics.

When couples choose in-vitro fertilization to create embryos to help build their families, the unused embryos are frozen for future attempts at pregnancy. Most couples are unprepared for what to do with remaining embryos once their family is complete. There are over 500,000 embryos currently frozen in storage at American clinics.

Although together these embryos occupy a space the size of a 12mm cube—the size of a board game die—they represent the population of a city the size of Atlanta. Size is subject to perspective. We all look mighty small from the moon. But to God, we are wondrously made and valuable at every stage of development.