Planned Parenthood Provides More Abortions than Health Services
Tax dollars should never fund abortions.
In 1984, eleven years after the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade legalized abortion, President Ronald Reagan designated the third Sunday of January as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. Although Roe v. Wade is now overturned, we still must strive diligently to create a culture that values life. Even in Wisconsin, abortion is now currently legal through the first five months of pregnancy. Every human being deserves respect, love, and dignity from the moment of fertilization until natural death.
Often when we discuss the sanctity of human life, we focus our attention on the evils of abortion. And while abortion is certainly an area worthy of our attention, tragically, it is not the only common practice that endangers life before birth.
Since the 1970s, the rising prominence of in vitro fertilization (or IVF), has raised serious ethical concerns. The process of IVF involves creating embryos in a lab and then implanting them in the uterus. However, due to the extremely low success rate of IVF treatments, clinics typically create extra embryos with no intention of carrying them to term. The plight of these leftover embryos raises serious ethical questions.
Please understand, these embryos are human beings, just at the earliest stage of development. Just because they are microscopic does not mean that they are any less human. They are not simply organs or lumps of cells. Each embryo contains its entire genetic makeup. These tiny human beings hold immense value.
But tragically, often these unwanted embryos are simply thrown away. One study found that fifty percent of IVF patients choose to discard their leftover embryos and another forty-five percent donate theirs to research. Although IVF clinics don’t report the number of discarded embryos, one prolife organization estimates that the IVF industry could be destroying up to twice as many human lives as abortion does.
In the study, the remaining four percent of IVF patients donated their unwanted embryos to other couples for implantation and adoption. While this solution may seem ethical at first glance, the truth is that the vast majority of these donated embryos end up abandoned, indefinitely frozen in labs. Although no precise calculation exists, many estimate that in the United States alone over a million surplus embryos remain frozen in labs waiting for adoption. Another study found that just 2 percent of embryos created through IVF will survive birth.
Concerningly, many fail to see the ethical dilemmas posed by the growing prevalence of IVF. Beginning this month, California has expanded access to IVF by requiring some insurance plans to include coverage for IVF treatments, and last year President Trump announced a similar plan for expanding access to IVF. Supporters of IVF push aside ethical concerns and praise IVF as the best solution to America’s infertility crisis. While low birth rates and rising infertility struggles certainly demand our attention, we must not ignore such egregious waste of precious human life.
As Christians, we are called to be the voice for the voiceless, to defend those who are unable to defend themselves. Proverbs thirty-one verses eight and nine say, “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Who could be more vulnerable than the unborn – either in the womb or a lab?
For us, every day should be Sanctity of Human Life Day. But we encourage everyone listening to place a special focus on the commemoration of God’s gift of life and its immense value this coming Sunday. Churches can commemorate this Sunday by setting aside a time of prayer for all those who are vulnerable, by sharing God’s great value for all life, and by placing special attention on treating the young, elderly, and disabled in their congregations with love and respect. Valuing life is so much more than a political stance or a Sunday in January. Our actions toward all humans should flow from our firm conviction that each human being bears God’s image and holds immeasurable value.
For Wisconsin Family Council, this is Daniel Degner reminding you that God, through the prophet Hosea, said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”