How Should I React?
Q: My grandson and his wife are expecting a baby conceived through in vitro fertilization. I have a few questions.
May I give the baby a gift, with a nice card, wishing the child well? May I send a congratulatory card to the parents when the baby is born? How should this matter be handled if it is ever brought up after the child is born?
A: By all means, congratulate the parents and give this baby a card and a gift. The child should not be penalized for the circumstances of its conception but should be welcomed and celebrated as you would do for any other great-grandchild.
Perhaps Pope John Paul I provides a model in this situation. Shortly before being elected pope in 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani said that the in vitro fertilization process poses “grave risks” for the human family. Yet he also expressed good wishes to Louise Brown, the first person that we know of born through in vitro fertilization.
Once a child is born, he or she should be welcomed as we welcome any other baby, a gift of life from God.
If you are ever drawn by family members into a discussion of in vitro fertilization, you can say nothing or give your opinion.
You might simply state that, in seeking to achieve a good purpose, some unfortunate things have happened and could happen again. For example, fertilized eggs are routinely destroyed when they are considered no longer necessary. There can be mix-ups in matching sperm and egg from the same couple. Someone else’s sperm or egg could be fraudulently substituted; some years ago one clinic director used his own sperm without a couple’s knowledge.
Technically speaking, the term in vitro fertilization means any fertilization which occurs outside a woman’s body, usually in a petri dish. By this term many people often include the use of someone else’s egg and/or sperm for the conception. The potential complications about the identity of a child conceived in this manner are enormous.
May I give the baby a gift, with a nice card, wishing the child well? May I send a congratulatory card to the parents when the baby is born? How should this matter be handled if it is ever brought up after the child is born?
A: By all means, congratulate the parents and give this baby a card and a gift. The child should not be penalized for the circumstances of its conception but should be welcomed and celebrated as you would do for any other great-grandchild.
Perhaps Pope John Paul I provides a model in this situation. Shortly before being elected pope in 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani said that the in vitro fertilization process poses “grave risks” for the human family. Yet he also expressed good wishes to Louise Brown, the first person that we know of born through in vitro fertilization.
Once a child is born, he or she should be welcomed as we welcome any other baby, a gift of life from God.
If you are ever drawn by family members into a discussion of in vitro fertilization, you can say nothing or give your opinion.
You might simply state that, in seeking to achieve a good purpose, some unfortunate things have happened and could happen again. For example, fertilized eggs are routinely destroyed when they are considered no longer necessary. There can be mix-ups in matching sperm and egg from the same couple. Someone else’s sperm or egg could be fraudulently substituted; some years ago one clinic director used his own sperm without a couple’s knowledge.
Technically speaking, the term in vitro fertilization means any fertilization which occurs outside a woman’s body, usually in a petri dish. By this term many people often include the use of someone else’s egg and/or sperm for the conception. The potential complications about the identity of a child conceived in this manner are enormous.
posted by See Tho Zhang Jacob at
2:19 AM
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