A May Gallup poll that asked (among other things) whether in-vitro fertilization (IVF) should be considered “morally acceptable” reveals a startling disconnect between what people perceive IVF to be and what it actually is.
An overwhelming 82% of survey respondents said they believed IVF is “morally acceptable.” However, though eight out of ten people believe IVF is acceptable, only 49% said they believe it is morally acceptable to destroy IVF-derived embryos. This drop signifies that 33% of respondents don’t understand that, by its nature, IVF results in the destruction of embryos, and therefore, the ending of these innocent human lives.
That disconnect was further demonstrated in questions regarding abortion: 37% of respondents said abortion is morally wrong, yet just 10% of respondents said the same about IVF.
How IVF works
IVF uses assisted reproductive technology (ART) methods to combine egg and sperm outside the body to create a new embryo, which is then implanted in the mother’s womb. Prior to this process, the woman takes injections to stimulate the production of several eggs, which are surgically removed from the woman. Typically, all of these eggs are paired with sperm, and 80% of the pairings result in the creation of embryos.
“An embryo is a human being,” emphasized Dr. Lauren Rubal in a recent Live Action video. And that new human life is immediately in jeopardy, as doctors will then do one of three things: transfer it to the uterus, freeze and store it, or destroy it.
“This is the fundamental ethical issue of IVF,” said Dr. Rubal: “the destruction or abandonment of human life.”
IVF’s disastrous impact
Best practice holds that a number of embryos will be created in order to increase the mother’s chance of getting pregnant.
“A recent study showed that the number of embryos needed to optimize cumulative live birth rates was nine,” explained Dr. Rubal. “This means that up to eight embryos may not survive or will be frozen or destroyed. So effectively, you are choosing the death of nine to get the life of one. Even though you have good intentions — you just want life — you’re also choosing all of the consequences that follow.”
Historically, those consequences have been disastrous. According to research published in Reproductive Biomedicine Online, over 2.5 million IVF cycles are performed every year, but of those, only 500,000 babies are born annually. Research published in 2012 by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) showed that 93% of the embryos created through IVF since 1991 never survived to birth. While some failed to implant, others were donated to research or stored indefinitely. An astonishing 1.7 million embryos were simply thrown away. And, to date, there are an estimated 1.5 million embryos currently frozen in the United States alone.
Furthermore, the embryos used usually aren’t chosen at random. After creation, they are labeled by a grading system and only those that are considered “highest quality” are given a chance at implantation in the womb; most of the others are destroyed, in what is clearly a eugenic practice.
Though many posit IVF as a good, it actually destroys human embryos at a higher rate than abortion does.
IVF is portrayed as a way to bring new life in the world, garnering the sympathy of those who view it as “pro-life” because it helps struggling people grow their families. But the death and destruction it leaves in its wake means it can never be morally acceptable.
