Some time ago, I met a woman who was suffering with a relatively mild illness. In counseling her to make sure to get enough rest, she stated that it was unlikely she could do so given the fact that she had young identical twins at home. As we talked, she shared that these children had come about using in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Description: Post-ovulation the egg is collected from the woman’s reproductive organs and fused with sperm; the resulting fertilized ovum is reinserted into the uterus.
I remember commenting that typically we see fraternal twins developing from an IVF because of the fertilization and implantation of multiple single egg pregnancies. It was only later that I learned that identical twin pregnancies occur in IVF much more frequently than in nature likely due to the manipulation of the embryo, whether during the actual fertilization process, length of time in cell culture, freezing and thawing, age at the time of transfer to the womb, or assisted “hatching” which allows for easier implantation for the embryo.[i] [ii] It would seem that some of the manipulation that happens during the process of IVF and implantation, not uncommonly, causes the initial splitting to occur and then identical twin pregnancies may be the result.[iii]
The Many Issues of IVF and other forms of ART
Description: Injecting sperm into a human egg
Think about it this way: If we were to take a cardiac cell, a cell from the human body of the heart, and grow more of them in a petri dish, they would begin to beat together. Why? Because they are differentiated as cardiac cells and, they are complete with 23 paired chromosomes. What happens when you put either an egg or sperm in a petri dish by itself with the appropriate hormones and chemicals to nourish them? Nothing happens. Why? Because they only have half of the genetic code they need to reproduce. In a manner of speaking, each human gamete (sperm or egg) is in search of the other for completion and continuation of human life. Why is it important to acknowledge this? With assisted reproductive technology (ART), we are able to perform different types of manipulation of the human gametes, that is, the egg and sperm, to allow for the inception of a new human life with various components of genetic parents.
Loss of Meaning and Intelligibility
The very fact that the human ovum, which must be contributed by a human female, and the human sperm, which must be contributed by human male, come together in new life demonstrates how conception is an image of the reality of marriage. Marriage in its deepest sense, between a man and woman, with a gift of self, body and soul to the other, is an act whereby two persons becoming one flesh and becoming a new entity by virtue of that gift.[iv] When the conjugal act, important for both its unitive and procreative aspects, leads to the conception of a new human life, the two – the human egg and the human sperm – literally become one flesh in the new developing human being.[v] Once you separate conception from its natural place, both life conceived and the conjugal act have their meaning compromised. And what is the result? We see all forms of manipulation of the building blocks of human life, the human gametes, for all kinds of purposes. At the very least, we need to step back and respect what we are talking about in dealing with in these very cells of human life. Even if we are able to eventually take a mature human somatic (body) cell and push it back, through the use of various chemicals and other signaling devices, to make it like an ovum or egg, the truth this is that you still need an egg and a sperm to make a baby.
The problems frozen embryos
In talking with women who have undergone IVF, for those with the awareness of the significance of the act of conceiving a new human being outside the body, there may be regret
that their progeny is now “frozen” in a sort of suspended animation, but for one reason or another, they are not able to undergo further implantation and attempt a pregnancy. Many women and men, mothers and fathers, are torn by the reality of the existence of these young lives that they now have no way to bring to fruition, yet they exist, their frozen children.
Where has IVF led us?
Since the development of IVF techniques, there has been a push to utilize these methods to allow for virtually anyone to “have a child of their own” or to be able to build a family. A search of the internet leads to hosts of articles discussing the use of these technologies to avoid potential genetic diseases, but there is also discussion of how this could also lead to different ways of manipulating zygotes, including nuclear transfer of fertilized eggs to allow of the introduction of different genetic material.[vi] Through repeat experimentation, “research” has led to the ability to “create” three person embryos.[vii] [viii]
April 18-24, 2021 marks “National Infertility Awareness Week.” Since 2010, this has been a federally recognized health observance by the Department of Health and Human Services.[ix] Promoted by Resolve, the National Infertility Organization, and its partners, this campaign purports to raise awareness of the difficulties involved with infertility. Interestingly, there are reasons why there is infertility among some of these individuals seeking to have a child, some of which stem from the fact that the desired conception is for same sex couples. A hint of the tenor of the website can be seen from the page, “What are my options?” which lists all the ART possibilities but also includes the possibilities for same sex partners.[x] Some people have an “infertility diagnosis” because there is not a man and a woman involved in the process. There is an implicit call to science and medicine to manipulate nature to make the naturally impossible possible, and an explicit call to seek support and funding for this work.
Why is IVF violent?
The violence of IVF affects many spheres of human life and culture. First, the manipulation of the actual egg, sperm, and embryo occurs in such a way that twinning may develop as a sort of repair process. This early manipulation has an adverse effect on human life in its earliest stages. Second, the subtle violence of IVF goes beyond biology. There is the loss of meaning between what is intended to happen in nature between a man and a woman, since IVF intervenes at the level of the contribution of their very genes to their progeny as two cells becoming one new entity. Third, there is a sort of violence that deconstructs the meaning of the body, the meaning of the conjugal act, and the meaning of marriage. Lastly, human lives are lost in IVF as frozen human embryos are created for use and then eventually discarded when no longer “needed” or viable. There is indeed a violence that comes with the manipulation of human life. This can even lead to the destruction of very young lives, especially in experimentation, all for the sake of making it possible for anyone, including same-sex partners, to have a child. We have to question the justice of such procedures.
Stay Tuned to Learn About Alternatives to IVF and Fertility Awareness
The next article on a related topic will explore “Fertility Awareness” and the research and science that is going into understanding the female cycle and infertility in ways that respect the value of each human life. These are methods that seek to restore women to health for the purpose of healthy ovulation and respect the dignity of the human body.
- “DEDA IVF EMRYOLOGIST.” WikiMedia Commons, April 9, 2021. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DEDA_IVF_EMRYOLOGIST.jpg.
- “IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) .” WikiMedia Commons. http://www.scientificanimations.com/wiki-images/, June 29, 2018. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IVF.jpg. Description English: Post-ovulation the egg is collected from the woman’s reproductive organs, fused with sperm and the resulting fertilized ovum is reinserted into the uterus.
- “ICSI Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection.” WikiMedia Commons, July 14, 2016. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ICSI_intracytoplasmic_sperm_injection.png. Description English: Injecting sperm into a human egg
- “IVF .” WikiMedia Commons, November 1, 2017. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ivf_.png.
[i] Roberts, Alexis-Danielle, Richard Schmidt, and Meera Shah. “Split Happens: a Case of Consecutive Monozygotic Twin Pregnancies Following Elective Single-Embryo Transfer in a 40-Year Old Woman Using Donor Oocytes.” Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics. Springer US, August 2018. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6086806/.
[ii] “Why Single Embryo Transfer during IVF Sometimes Results in Twins or Triplets.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, October 9, 2018. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181009102542.htm.
[iii] Kanter, Jessica R, Sheree L Boulet, Jennifer F Kawwass, Denise J Jamieson, and Dmitry M Kissin. “Trends and Correlates of Monozygotic Twinning after Single Embryo Transfer.” Obstetrics and gynecology. U.S. National Library of Medicine, January 2015.
Link to article
[iv] Pope Saint John Paul II. “Language of the Body Strengthens the Marriage Covenant.” In The Theology of the Body by John Paul II: The Redemption of the Body and Sacramentality of Marriage, 276–77. Accessed April 18, 2021. https://stmarys-waco.org/documents/2016/9/theology_of_the_body.pdf
[v] Pope Saint John Paul II. “The Sacramental Covenant in the Dimension of Sign.” In The Theology of the Body by John Paul II: The Redemption of the Body and Sacramentality of Marriage, 273–76. Accessed April 18, 2021. https://stmarys-waco.org/documents/2016/9/theology_of_the_body.pdf.
[vi] Hamzelou, Jessica. “Exclusive: World’s First Baby Born with New ‘3 Parent’ Technique.” New Scientist, September 27, 2016. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2107219-exclusive-worlds-first-baby-born-with-new-3-parent-technique/.
[vii] Hamzelou, Jessica. “Exclusive: World’s First Baby Born with New ‘3 Parent’ Technique.” New Scientist, September 27, 2016. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2107219-exclusive-worlds-first-baby-born-with-new-3-parent-technique/.
[viii] Mullin, Emily. “Pregnancy Reported in the First Trial of ‘Three-Person IVF’ for Infertility.” STATnews, January 29, 2019. https://www.statnews.com/2019/01/24/first-trial-of-three-person-ivf-for-infertility/.
[ix] “About National Infertility Awareness Week® (NIAW).” National Infertility Awareness Week, March 1, 2021. https://infertilityawareness.org/about-niaw/#:~:text=April%2018%2D24%2C%202021.
[x] “What Are My Family Building Options?” RESOLVE, June 18, 2020. https://resolve.org/what-are-my-options/.
Posted April 19, 2021
