Christian Attitudes to Infertility.

Christian attitudes to medical treatment for infertility * Childlessness is a major problem for some Christian couples who believe that if they cannot have a child, they are not able to fulfil God’s command to humans to be “fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28) * Some may accept that it is God’s choice for them to not have children. * Some may find other ways to direct their parental skills such as school, charity or church work. * Some may choose to adopt children and therefore give unwanted or orphaned children a living home. * Some may choose to try to conceive a child through fertility treatment.

Christians who are against fertility treatment * Christians are divided over the use if artificial methods to have children. Some Christians, such as Roman Catholics, are opposed to all fertility treatments because they believe. * God intended that children should be created through the natural act of sex between a husband and wife. * No one has a “right” to have children. God has a plan for everyone and if it is within his plan or a couple not to have a child, then people should respect that. * Masturbation is a sin and all treatments where fertilisation takes place outside the woman’s body involves masturbation by the male. “Technique which allow someone other that the husband and wife to be involved in the making of a child are very wrong. Techniques which separate sex from making of the baby are unacceptable” (Catechism of the Catholic Church) * Some Christians, including Catholics, are opposed to IVF because it involves the creation of several embryos. The embryos that are not used are destroyed and some are experimented on, which can be seen as violating the “sanctity of life” * Many Christians would object to treatments which use donated sperm or eggs because they believe this would be adultery. Most Christians do not agree with surrogacy because it involves a third person, which may cause complications for all involved. Christians who agree with fertility treatments * Few Christians would agree with all types of fertility treatments for the reasons mentioned above . * Many would accept them in cases where the sperm of the husband and the egg of the wife are used (in IVF or AIH) * God has given humans the capacity to create children in this way * It allows couples to experience the joy of having children * It is a way of loving your neighbour and follows the golden rule.