Topic #8: Birth Control and In Vitro

This is a topic that hits close to home with me. My wife and I do want to have children, but we currently use birth control to keep that from happening at this immediate moment. What does the Bible teach about birth control? What about conception in an 'unnatural' way (in vitro and surrogacy)? This chapter in the book is taken from material assembled by the staff at Grace Community Church.

The Bible is clear that a purpose of marriage is procreation (Genesis 1:27). Psalm 127:3-5 also states that it is a blessing to have many children. But the Bible does not specifically say whether or not a married man and woman can take measures to help determine when they will conceive children.

At its core, birth control is a means to delay pregnancy in order that a married couple can still enjoy the pleasures of sex within the marriage bed. Both children and sex are meant to glorify God. 1 Corinthians 7:5 does forbid a married couple from withholding sex from each other for an extended period of time, so that method is out as a form of birth control. A very common form of birth control, and often the most controversial in Christian circles, is 'the pill'. I will not go into detail in this post about how the pill works. For a more detailed description, visit this link here. In a nutshell, any Biblical hesitation regarding the pill would arise regarding whether the pill can kill an embryo after conception has taken place. As I read through the chapter and took in all the medical descriptions, there is no clear data that says the pill can potentially kill a fertilized egg. Again, if you want a more full description of how the pill works, visit here.

The technological advances that have taken place allow doctors to fertilize a woman's egg with a man's sperm outside of the act of sexual intercourse. While I believe there is nothing wrong with this action, the results of this action can lead to sin, namely murder. (If you haven't read my last post on abortion here, this would be a good time to do so as fertilizing eggs leads to the creation of embryos).

A common practice in in vitro fertilization is the creation of multiple embryos to be implanted in the woman's uterus a some point in the future. Often extra embryos are created. These embryos are then usually frozen for long periods of time or are even 'discarded' when the married couple no longer needs them. What we as Christians need to realize is that this embryo is as much a human being in a glass petri dish as it is inside of a mother's womb. To destroy that embryo is no different than what takes place during an abortion. Both are human beings and both situations should be considered murder.

Here are a couple good guidelines for Christians seeking to have children through the means of in vitro fertilization:
*It should not be an option for singles attempting to have children. Children were meant to be raised in a family consisting of a mother and a father within a marriage.
*It should not be an option for couples who are not married. Again, children were meant to be raised in a family consisting of a mother and a father with a marriage.
*Every embryo that is created from the mother's egg and father's sperm should be eventually implanted in the mother's womb.
*Only a healthy number of fetuses (three at most, but preferably two) should be implanted at once in a mother's womb. Any more than this often results in the death of some of the embryos.
*It is advisable to store a woman's egg and a husband's sperm separately if needed due to an upcoming medical procedure (such as radiation or chemotherapy). See the above points as to why this is advisable.

In regard to surrogacy, again, the Bible does not specifically address this issue as right or wrong. However, when a third party was involved in Scripture, it did not work out in an ideal manner. See Genesis 16 for an example. The ideal way to go for married couples unable to have children via natural method or in vitro fertilization is adoption. What better way to fulfill the command in James 1:27 to look after orphans than by adopting them into a God-loving household?