You Asked For It

What Does the Bible Say About Modern Reproductive Options?
-or -
Do We Have A Right To Have A Child At All Costs?

                         % of American couples are defined as infertile

Reproductive Options

1. Fertility drugs
2. Artificial insemination
3. In vitro fertilization (IVF)
4. Surrogate mother
5. Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT)
6. Zygote intrafllopian transfer (ZIFT)
7. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)

Issues -- Social and Human Consequences

1. Human desires are meant to function within                               

2. Placing parental rights over the                                     and                                                    of a child

   The risk of serious birth defects                                with IVF and ICSI =      % of children

3. Is this a child or a                                                                             ? Are you my Mother?

4. The belief that we can do all these things without any long term implications is quite                          .

5. Are we aiding in a                                                                         or interfering?

Convictions

Finding Our Way To Godly Ethical Decisions

In the Scripture, all moral norms for God's people are ultimately grounded in the                                               and                      of a good God.

• God - the author of                                         

  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
  Colossians 1:16-17

  "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;
  Jeremiah 1:5

• He created us to live in the relationships of his design

  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
  Genesis 2:24

  Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"--which is the first commandment with a promise-- "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
  Ephesians 6:1-4

• God is                                         

  For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
  Psalm 139:13-16

• God's ways are                 our ways

  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.
  Isaiah 55:8

Implications

• All life is                                         

• All individuals are uniquely created with a purpose at the                                of                                                   

• God is at work even in infertility

• Crossing the line reveals our                                                    -- "At what point am I sinning?"

• Our choices always have                                                             

• Live always in God's                           - it restores us

A great website to check out: The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity

www.cbhd.org