The Narrow Path Ministries

Anybody familiar with the procedure where a couple can take a left over embryo that wasn’t used from another couples in vitro process (and will only be thrown away) and “adopt” it and have it inserted into the new couples, woman’s womb to raise as their own. It could be argued that this is similar to adoption (if you take the position that fertilized embryos are a live human, which I do) and that you are adopting the baby from it’s embryonic state and raising it. Thoughts? Objections?
I’m also curious to hear peoples input/insight into what if any level of help should we look to modern medicine in regards to the aiding of becoming pregnant from hormone injections to in vitro. How far is to far? Our we not trusting God enough when it comes to seeking medical help in this area since it’s not a life or death issue (Matt 9:12)?

Erich wrote:Anybody familiar with the procedure where a couple can take a left over embryo that wasn’t used from another couples in vitro process (and will only be thrown away) and “adopt” it and have it inserted into the new couples, woman’s womb to raise as their own. It could be argued that this is similar to adoption (if you take the position that fertilized embryos are a live human, which I do) and that you are adopting the baby from it’s embryonic state and raising it. Thoughts? Objections?
I’m also curious to hear peoples input/insight into what if any level of help should we look to modern medicine in regards to the aiding of becoming pregnant from hormone injections to in vitro. How far is to far? Our we not trusting God enough when it comes to seeking medical help in this area since it’s not a life or death issue (Matt 9:12)?

My wife and I struggled with infertility issues of no known cause for five years. We had lots of time to research (and sometimes disagree) on the ethical questions surrounding this. Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt.

As someone who believes that life began at the time those eggs were fertilized, I have much less problem with bringing them out of limbo then I do with things to cause them in the first place. To me, it always came down to an unanswerable question. Can free will decisions instigate a life outside of God's perfect will? In other words, can/will God allow something that is outside of what he would rather us do/be? To put another spin on it, if a baby is born to an unwed or raped mother, was it God's will for the act that caused the conception to occur? Never wrestled that one to a comfortable conclusion. At some point, and I'm not sure where to draw the line, we cross from a medical remedy to a medical ailment into medical "tinkering". If God wanted a couple to adopt or to not have kids, what would it look like? How many times have we made another decision looking at events as God's leading when this signs were not this clear?

Like I said, I don't know all the answers. Just have questions that you have probably struggled with on those sleepless nights yourself.
D.

I, personally, have a strong conviction that I should adopt. My feelings is that it would be selfish of me to want to have my own flesh and blood children when there are so many other children who won't have a chance at a godly upbringing unless Christians take them in. Of course, that's not a conviction I force off on anyone else, simply one God's given me for me.

To answer your question, however, I think we Christians should think enough of life that we would jump at the opportunity to do something like embryonic adoption if we are financially, mentally, spiritually and physically able to do so. Perhaps that's the reason God left you childless -- so you'd have more room for someone else's children who are already here instead of your own, who are as yet nonexistent.

Just my two cents. As always, we should pray and follow what God puts on our hearts.