Introduction
IVF refers to in vitro fertilization, a method of creating a new life outside the human body. Within this process, eggs and sperm are mixed in the laboratory, for which they are removed and placed in an incubator. Among the formed zygotes, the strongest are selected and implanted into the mother’s body for further natural gestation.
Discussion
This technology provides a high level of efficiency in terms of fertilization: the embryos successfully take root, and women diagnosed with infertility become mothers of healthy children. In case of male infertility, the IVF method is complemented by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI): fertilization is carried out with only one sperm cell not in a natural way, but with the help of special tools. This method has allowed many men to become parents even with severe pathologies of sperm formation.
The pros and cons of IVF fertilization are much talked about in the press, and this technology is often discussed in religious and scientific circles. There is no doubt about the benefits: it opens the possibility of childbearing to infertile people who have lost hope. Practice has shown that children born through IVF are no different from “natural” babies, they develop normally and live a full life. Since the entire process of conception and gestation is controlled by specialists, the risk of serious genetic pathologies is minimal. Thus, it can be concluded that, indeed, IVF should be an option for women struggling with infertility.
Conclusion
In the historical aspect, IVF is a relatively new concept that arose in the last part of the XX century. Since then, heated discussions were held over the nature and religious appropriateness of the method. Some scholars, while not doubting the value of the IVF, even express the fear that conducting research and experiments on human embryos can lead to a new form of eugenic selection and human cloning. Orthodox theologists express differentiated attitudes towards IVF and other methods of “abnormal” childbearing techniques available today. Meanwhile, the position of the Roman Catholic Church is more simple and unambiguous: it evaluates all such methods negatively, based on the concept of the traditional for the Catholic moral theology inviolability of the natural law. However, theological arguments can be easily refuted by scientific facts that emphasize IVF’s benefits not only for infertile women but for the humanity as a whole.