Context
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:13-14 (ESV)
The Alabama Supreme Court recently made headlines with a controversial decision. Matthew Lee Anderson (a Christian ethicist at Baylor) summarized it this way in his newsletter:
“The Alabama Supreme Court has made waves by ruling that embryos being stored in fertility clinics are children. As such, those clinics can be held responsible for their deaths. The case was initiated by a number of families who lost their embryos when someone wandered into the “cryogenic nursery” and removed several embryos, which he dropped because they were too cold.”
Fears
The reactions to this ruling were swift, breathless, maybe even panicked. Of course there are those in the abortion industry who are worried that this would entail constriction of abortion “rights.” And that is logical enough.
But of course, the setting behind this ruling didn’t have to do with abortion, per se. Rather, it was in a place where human embryos were being stored, hypothetically at least, for later implantation into a womb. If the clinics and hospitals where this is performed, or where those children are stored, can be held liable in the case of accidental destruction - that is, the death of the unborn child - then such procedures would be at risk of becoming much more legally risky and, therefore, expensive. Many people (including Senator Duckworth of Illinois) find this intolerable to think about.
Should there be legislation to protect these unborn children destroyed accidentally - or often intentionally - through IVF? Donald Trump and Mike Johnson don’t think so.
An Accepted Practice
IVF technology has existed since the late 50s, and in 1978 the first human baby conceived via IVF was born. Since that time many people, Christians included, have hailed this as a great benefit for couples seeking to have babies who either are incapable or simply have had great difficulties via the normal means of reproduction. It has become widespread practice that now, according the the NIH, accounts for between 1% and 3% of live births in Europe and the US.
As people from Senator Duckworth (a liberal Democrat) to Speaker Johnson (a conservative Republican) argue, this technology is seen as vital for many in the modern world who wish to have children. Further, with the push for LGBTQ+ rights in our society, this becomes even more pressing, because - of course - many of those who so identify are either in homosexual relationships or have undergone surgeries or hormone treatments which leave them infertile. Thus IVF (and related technologies) play a vital role in the “having” of children.
And, as Ryan Burge notes, nearly a third of Americans see this as a completely non-moral issue. Of those who doe see it as a moral issue, the overwhelming majority believe IVF to be a positive moral good:
But is It?
All of the above is pretty obvious: IVF is popular, and it has almost certainly been part of the life of someone you know. Perhaps it is a part of your story. Because of this widespread acceptance, anything which might end up restricting the practice is going to face stiff opposition. And this is one of those rare cases that seems to unite people regardless of politics, and largely regardless of religion. Even prominent Christian theologians argue for the (at least hypothetical) legitimacy of the practice.
But friends, I think we need to pause here and consider: at least for those of us who believe the words of Psalm 139:13-14, and who infer from that that we should consider life as precious from the moment of conception: can we really be okay with a process that (at least as normally practiced) makes habit of creating and then destroying life? Or placing babies “on ice” to be saved for later use? Do we really have that right?
I do not want to in any way minimize the pain that can come with childlessness, that is a pain witnessed to in the Scriptures and in the lives on many we know. To desire children and have that good desire go unfulfilled is a genuine source of sorrow and grief.
But the Christian response to such sorrow is rightly one of lament, not taking into our hands, or test tubes, the role of God.
There are further questions on this matter, such as disintegration of procreation when it is moved outside the context in which God created it, which merit discussion and consideration. I don’t have a final word on these matters, but I have been thinking about them for years, and have largely kept my thoughts to myself. Frankly, I regret that. I would encourage you, if considering this matter is new to you, to read the following two pieces, one by Anderson, and one co-authored by Anderson and Andrew T. Walker. I’ll also link a video from Core Christianity, which takes a more moderate position than I do, but still raises the most pressing issue.
Breaking Evangelicalism’s Silence on IVF, Walker and Anderson
The Biblical Case Against IVF, Anderson
Chiasm in Psalm 86:8-10
Psalm 86 is a Psalm of David that feels out of place - Psalms 73-83 are ascribed to Asaph, and 84-85 to the Sons of Korah. After this, we won’t find another Psalm ascribed to David until Psalm 101.
As is often the case with David’s psalms, he is crying out to the Lord seeking justice. He has confidence in the character of God, quoting in v15 from Exodus 34, “you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”
As I went through this Psalm (reading with a friend), we got to verses 8-10 and I noticed a chiasm that made me pause:
8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like yours.
9 All the nations you have made shall come
and worship before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
10 For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.
Chiasm is a literary form where elements are constructed in a > shape. The first and last elements of the poem, or argument, or narrative (chiasms can be used in many different ways) build toward, and then back out from, the center. The simplest one in English might be:
All for
one
and one
for all
What stood out to me as we came to verses 8-10, though, was first of all, the confidence that God is unlike all the gods of the nations (v8). This is re-stated in v10 even more strongly: “you alone are God.” I then noted the parallels between 8b, “nor are there any works like yours”, and 10a, “you are great and do wondrous things.”
These elements then drew my eyes to the center, verse 9: “All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.” This section of the Psalm draws the attention of the reader to this fact. Because God alone is the Lord, because his works are unlike and beyond the works of any so-called gods, one day all nations on earth will be drawn to his throne to worship. We see this put richly on display in Revelation 21:22-27 (ESV) -
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Amen.
Final Word
“Our society’s failure to honor the image of God at the beginning of life arises from its denial of the Lordship and love of Jesus Christ. But that denial is made easier when Christians participate in the systems and structures that empty the origins of our lives of the awe and wonder of procreation, which comes sometimes when we do not want it, just as it can fail to come when we greatly desire it. Let us seek the face of God in Christ—and in so seeing him, see truly the ways those who are created according to his image are owed our care, compassion, and love.” Matthew Lee Anderson, The Biblical Case Against IVF