The Technical Child: In Vitro Fertilization and the Personal Subject
Two moral issues of our day have captured much public attention: abortion and embryonic stem cell research. However, another issue, which is positioned precisely between these two and directly related, in vitro fertilization (lVF), has not shared the limelight to nearly the same extent. IVF is a primary source of the controversy over embryonic stem cell research and a result of legalized abortion. As such, it calls for more intense scrutiny than it has thus far received. Perhaps the pain of infertile couples desiring a child seems too delicate a matter with which to take issue. But certainly the problem of women in crisis over their pregnancy is no less delicate. Compassion calls for love grounded in truth, not shadowy obfuscation. IVF is a contemporary tragedy unfolding in our country and elsewhere in the world. This tragedy could be called "The Technical Child"." It is produced and directed by medical and research scientists and technicians. The main characters are the infertile couple, embryonic children, a doctor and his team of medical technicians, the scientific research community, and God, the Creator. To uncover the tragedy it is necessary to look at each of these as a personal subject and to examine the role they take and the actions for which they are responsible. As each character is examined, some of the realities of the IVF process will be described and the moral, theological and anthropological issues involved will be elucidated, along with some of the controversy surrounding them.