Is IVG The Next Big Thing?

It's no secret that I think IVF is a great tool for infertile couples. I hope that I have made it abundantly clear that there are many moral and ethical issues with IVF and that we have had to pray through and research our positions on for the various questions that arise during the process. While we choose to approach it from a position of honoring life, etc. there are many who pervert the process and create designer babies, do gender and chromosomal selection, etc. It is a sad reality, and I am often discouraged that I have to use this tool to get pregnant. However, I do feel that there are many couples who are in much the same situation as us who do not pervert this process and who also seek to honor life and God through the IVF process. IVF in its self is not evil. As with any tool, it can be used for 'evil' and not good.

If you are going through IVF (or know someone who is going through it or considering it) it is not something to take lightly. As with any medical procedure, you should do your research and prayerfully make your decisions and stick with them.

Yesterday, as I was on my eIVF patient portal I saw a news feed with an article with the following title: "New Research Lets Us Make Babies From Skin Cells." Intrigued, I read the article. I must admit, part of me was fascinated with the idea from a purely scientific, theoretical standpoint. That something like this is even remotely possible is cool from a purely scientific standpoint.

HOWEVER, from a moral and ethical standpoint, this new procedure, IVG, has SO many implications. Right in the article it states that it could be a tool for same-sex male couples to create a completely biological child of their own, using DNA and cells ("eggs") made from male cells. This is only the surface of the perversion of life that could happen. Talk about playing God.

My husband and I talked about this and besides seeing the potential for a real life Jurassic Park, the question was raised, if life created this way, does it have a soul. Of course, it is hard to tell, but we decided that yes, it does. It is a perversion of life, but it is life. Just as God will not keep free will from happening, I do not believe that he will keep this from happening, and he will allow the life to be created. Romans 1:24 says, "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another." 

If you think that IVF has a lot of moral and ethical decisions, think about all the decisions facing people doing IVG. As with most things, there is a softer, more acceptable side, as in the case presented of a cancer survivor getting to have her own biological child when there are no viable eggs left in her body. This is awesome, but I am just not sure that the potential good outweighs the bad that can come from this procedure.

Of course, this research is in its infancy and has only been tested on mice at this point. It will be several years before it becomes a viable practice for humans. However, it will most likely happen in my lifetime. IVF for example, was only introduced to the human public in the 1950's in England. Look where it has gone since then.

The one great takeaway that I got from this article is that I serve an AMAZING GOD. That He would create a being that has enough information in the smallest parts of its being to be able to detangle it and make it into new life is simply mind-blowing.

If you would like to read the article, I have included it below.

New Research Lets Us Make Babies From Skin Cells

Article by June Javelosa about new fertility breakthrough (vitro gametogenesis – IVG) that will allow sex cells to be created from skin cells provided by Futurism. 

As far-fetched as this idea seems, it’s a possibility that scientists are now exploring after they successfully produced healthy mice using a process called in vitro gametogenesis (IVG). This is a revolutionary method involving embryonic stem cells that are reprogramed to become viable sex cells.

In the mice experiment, scientists made early stage mouse eggs from stem cells and grew them in the lab. Once the eggs matured, they fertilized them with mouse sperm and demonstrated that they could also be successfully implanted into a surrogate female mouse.

It’s important to note that the technology is still in its infancy. Creating eggs from skin cells is a possibility, but at this point, there is still some work to be done before it is truly viable in humans. The success of the mouse model, however, illustrates the opportunities that this technique could offer.

Obviously, IVG is revolutionary for the field of fertility medicine. It gives infertile people hope, especially those who are unable to have children because of cancer treatment. For example, collecting skin cells from patients undergoing chemotherapy means scientists can turn them into healthy eggs or sperm in case they become infertile as a result of treatment.

In short, the technique could render egg donors obsolete. For couples undergoing fertility treatments, they no longer have to choose from just a handful of viable embryos, they could potentially select from a bigger pool. It also makes the biological process of conceiving more democratic. Theoretically, the method can be used to produce egg cells from male skin cells, making it possible for a baby to be created from same-sex couples.

Perhaps as a testament to the promise of this technique, experts are already looking into IVG’s possible consequences this early into the study.

For instance, should the procedure eventually become accessible and inexpensive, we could face the possibility of ‘embryo farming,’ which for some, puts a focus on how this method can devalue human life. Perceived advantages, like making it possible for parents to select from a bigger pool of embryos, also has obvious downsides—like high-tech enabled eugenics.

Combined with advances in gene editing technology, it raises ethical concerns regarding human enhancement and designer babies. And with IVG theoretically making it possible for a baby to have three or more genetic parents, it raises questions regarding the legal rights and responsibilities of each parent.

It’s difficult to predict when technology like this will be ready for use in humans. Right now, any efforts to replicate the same results in primates or humans has proved unsuccessful. But the study is steadily moving forward, and as the authors pointed out:

[…] With science and medicine hurtling forward at breakneck speed, the rapid transformation of reproductive and regenerative medicine may surprise us. Before the inevitable, society will be well advised to strike and maintain a vigorous public conversation on the ethical challenges of IVG.