Exploring Religious Aspects of Infertility Treatments

Just because society is capable of doing something does it mean we should? When you view this question in regards to Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) this question becomes extremely personal due to its religious connotations. It is estimated that 7.3 million women are affected by infertility leaving many to believe that medical research and treatments should help these women fulfill their dreams of having a child, yet some religions state otherwise.

ART can be provoking, insightful, challenging, sometimes scary, often exciting and always powerful. Many religions have specific views on IVF, surrogacy, and egg or sperm donations creating a multitude of decisions and obstacles for individuals looking to create a family.

In the Catholic religion children must be a product of a physical union between the husband and wife and must be conceived through an act of love and sexual intercourse. Thus, a child should not be created with the help of a physician. Gamete intra-fallopian, (GIFT) transfer is allowed since both the egg and sperm are placed in the women’s fallopian tubes meaning conception technically still takes place within the woman’s body. While GIFT is an option that is acceptable within the laws of the Catholic religion many infertility clinics are ruling out its use due to its success rate of 20% compared to other treatment options yielding success rates near 60%. Since life begins at conception and it is the sole union of two married heterosexual people, Catholicism has no tolerance for egg donors, surrogacy or donor sperm.

The Jewish law, on the other hand, seems to be very supportive of ART based on the biblical statement “be fruitful and multiply”. While Judaism is tolerant of basically any type of treatment that helps build a family the belief that children are an extension of parents’ being can cause some religious complications within the three Jewish sects. In Reform Judaism the offspring’s Jewishness is determined more by upbringing and commitment then by birth. However, the more extreme Judaic sect, Orthodox Jews believe that the birth mother is the sole determinant of the child’s religious status. Therefore, if an individual is Jewish and in need of a surrogate, this candidate must be Jewish in order for the child to recognized as Jewish without the need for a conversion. The Conservative sect seems to be split on the issue with many saying it is solely a genetic gift and others believing it is the combination of a genetic gift and the nurturing from the mother during fetal development. In practice, Rabbi’s agree that when in doubt perform a conversion so the child is deemed Jewish.

Christianity’s assertion that life begins at conception raises many questions about in vitro fertilization procedures. Advancements in ART have enabled embryologists to harvest as many as 20-30 eggs in order to maximize a couples chance for success. This combined with advancements in embryo and egg freezing techniques have allowed infertile patients the opportunity to freeze extra embryos indefinitely. The moral issue arises when the patient has successfully reached their family goal but they still have frozen embryos that are no longer needed. Since Christians believe that life begins at conception and God is the one who makes life possible they struggle with the notion of discarding the extra embryos. There are several moral implications with the IVF and surrogacy process leaving Christians trying to balance their faith with hope and caution.

Under the Islamic law procreation is a duty of marriage making the use of donor gametes forbidden. They believe that the use of donor gametes will destroy the child’s lineage, which is highly immoral and psychologically devastating. In some sects of the Muslim culture egg donation, donor insemination, adoption, and surrogacy are forbidden as well because they are viewed as adulterous or violations against legal inheritance, and seen as a form of incest. Adoption is viewed as an extreme last resort with the belief that if a couple is unsuccessful with ART they should remain childless. In the Suni Muslim world the use of artificial insemination with the husband’s sperm is acceptable and IVF is acceptable provided there is clear medical documentation of necessity and that all procedures are performed by a physician. Regardless, surrogacy and sperm or egg donors are still considered adulterous. On the other hand Shi’ite Muslims permit the use of donor eggs or sperm making the intended parents the adoptive parents, yet the child still will not follow the same lineage and will not have any inheritance rights. This sect also believes that embryo donations are acceptable if they were created from another married couple. Muslims belief that life begins at conception and that procreation is the duty of a married couple causes several moral issues when an individual is faced with fertility issues.

Buddhists believe that whenever life begins it is special no matter the means. They have very little tolerance for being childless due to the idea in traditional Chinese culture that a family without a child is less than perfect. Therefore, Buddhist followers in general, believe that any intervention in nature is undesirable but is tolerated more than being childless. Asian societies place an extreme importance on having a child, with most childless couples ending in divorce. While they do not have a moral issue with infertility treatments such as IVF and gamete donations, they do not condone compensating a surrogate. Buddhists believe that having a child is extremely important and if a couple chooses to complete their family with ART it will not compromise their faith.

In the Hindu culture there is a huge stigma attached to women whom are infertile. Hindus believe that artificial insemination is only acceptable if it is with the husband’s sperm. While this is acceptable very few people in India have access to such treatments due to the high cost. As a result there are no laws in India regarding the use or standards of ART, donor gamete, or surrogacy. The culture believes that having a son is extremely important for a family economically and that having more than one daughter is a curse. These factors have led many couples to use ART to ensure the birth of a male child. Yet with no laws to regulate these treatments, gender selection is blatantly misused. The fundamental social reforms and stigma against women must change in order for the laws and religious viewpoints to uphold any value.

Infertility technology has paved the way for the future of family building. The question now becomes what are our limits and who should enforce these limits? It is politicians, our religious leaders, or our traditional cultural beliefs? Infertility affects millions of individuals across the globe with each case being different due to its extremely personal nature. Individuals who are affected by infertility have to decide how they wish to balance the law, their faith, and their cultural beliefs when using ART to reach their end family goal.