A few months back when I was blogging about the embryo tracking bill that made its way through the Arizona Senate for a few scary months, I saw a response on Facebook from some very angry folks who basically said it was vanity to want a child using IVF.
We should accept our infertile state and take care of the many children in the world who don’t have parents.
I saw a similar thread in the Catholic Donum Vitae that basically said we shouldn’t subject our reproductive components to the indignities of a petri dish, and instead accept the reproductive fate that God had given us.
The funny thing is there are a lot of stories in the Bible about infertile people, who ultimately conceive on their own with divine intervention.
I don’t recall any passages where it says they are supposed to embrace a life without having a child from their “seed”.
Or that a requirement for them to become a parent is to accept their barrenness and care for orphans or other displaced children of those times.
There are a lot of sections in the Bible that talk about vanity, but for the life of me I can’t remember reading any that indicate it is vanity to want a child from your own biology.
God never reprimands anyone in the Bible for grieving over their infertility.
So why this accusation of vanity towards people who are willing to go to such great lengths to have a child?
I’ll admit I have some issues with the whole idea of “designer” babies, and using infertility to craft a certain genetic mixture of eye color, hair texture, or talents from a specific donor because if his artistic aptitude or athletic ability. That stuff crosses some lines I don’t think should be crossed.
But to be honest in the sixteen or so years I’ve met couples going through infertility, I don’t recall ever meeting anyone who was going for the ‘designer’ baby.
We just want the same shot that the general population has at having a kid. One that has Uncle Johnny’s laugh, or cousin Chris’ red hair, or Uncle Paul’s goofiness. Or my eyes, and Lisa’s beauty.
The unequivocal answer in my opinion is no–it isn’t vanity to want an IVF baby.
God’s just gotten so busy with the population and all the craziness in this world, that he’s given some of his baby making knowledge to doctors so couples struggling with their own barrenness can bring a baby from their own seed into their lives.