Child in the Womb: Product or Gift?

When God created Adam and Eve, there was one way to procreate, not reproduce (no explanation needed). Since their fall with sin entering all creation, there are more than 28 ways to reproduce a child to meet the needs of a husband and wife, a co-habiting male and female, or same-sex partners (called ‘collaborating partners’).

The advance of reproductive technologies brought with it ways to determine not only the sex of the child, but also ways to determine if a prenatal child was carrying certain dominant genes (for example, Huntington’s Disease), recessive genes (for example, Cystic Fibrosis) or Trisomy 21 genetic disorder (Down’s Syndrome). This genetic determinism is called in utero Prenatal Genetic Testing. This is withdrawing and genetically examining a few millimeters of fluid from the amniotic sac which bears the child.

A recent article in the September 2011 issue of Discover has published the latest advance in this test [this article is not yet available online]. Within the next 5-7 years, this test will be available and affordable for parents or ‘collaborating partners’ of various varieties to determine if the child in the woman’s womb is carrying a gene or genes resulting in a genetic disorder which will open the door wider for increase in selective elective abortions-on-demand.

Of course, this may lead to other new-eugenic scenarios: determining whether parents or ‘collaborating partners’ want to keep a child with low IQ, or dwarfism, or wrong sex, or any number of any softer characteristics such as eye color, hair color or athletic ability.

Some in the scientific community continue to give their approval for couples in search of the perfect child, while others say: “Not so fast until we know what the long term ethical and psychoemotional effects will be on those who utilize this technology.” Within this context, the pursuit of happiness and self-fulfillment trumps human life as a gift from God, the Creator.

This prenatal genetic testing is part of the new eugenics that continues to sow and reap its seed by eliminating the weakest in the womb and those created in ‘petri-dishes’ via in vitro fertilization because they have certain characteristics and attributes that are unacceptable to parents in search of their perfect/healthy child. The child in the womb is no longer viewed as gift from God but a commodity, a product that can be disposed of when the child isn’t genetically [genotypically]  and phenotypically in line with their expectations.

This isn’t science fiction, but science fact that opens itself for a theological refresher course in biblical anthropology. Ultimately, working on the question, “What does it mean to be human according to the Scriptures?”

“What say you?”