The fate of frozen embryos sparks intense debate

The popularity of in-vitro fertilization and other procedures that require the creation of multiple embryos has resulted in an excess of frozen embryos, as many as 500,000. What to do with those embryos, and whether couples can “adopt” them to gestate them to birth, is an ethical conundrum and a matter of intense debate.

embryo Many conservative Christians who believe that life begins at conception are especially concerned about the growing number of frozen embryos and are divided about what to do.

Destroying them or donating them for research is considered unethical, yet the possibility of embryo adoption also raises serious questions that have no easy answers.

This edition of ReligionLink highlights the latest debates on the topic and provides resources for reporters covering the story.

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Christianity Today, the flagship evangelical monthly, in July 2010 posted a forum on the issue featuring essays exploring different approaches to the question of frozen embryos.

“Frozen Embryos: Take Responsibility” is by David Cook, a bioethics expert at Wheaton College. “There are no ideal scenarios,” he says, “but we must work for a solution.”
“Frozen Embryos: Adopt Them” is by Ron Stoddart, director of Nightlight Christian Adoptions, a nonprofit that facilitates Christian adoption. “For those who believe that life begins at conception,” he writes, “only one choice remains.”
“Frozen Embryos: First, Help Couples” is by Ellen Painter Dollar, author of a new book about Christian perspectives on reproductive and genetic technology. “Christians need much better resources for ethical and theological reflection,” she writes.

The Catholic Church is also debating this topic.

In 2008, the Vatican released a major document on bioethics, “Dignitas Personae” (“The Dignity of a Person”), that reiterated the Catholic view that embryos should not be created in the lab and frozen, but added that embryo adoption is also not allowed. It is, the document said, “a situation of injustice which in fact cannot be resolved.”

Still, some believe the Vatican document does not entirely shut the door to embryo adoption.

The National Catholic Bioethics Center posted contrasting arguments on the topic, one by Stephen Napier, who favors embryo adoption, the other by John M. Haas, president of the center, who disagrees.
Also see a Dec. 12, 2008, Catholic News Service overview of the Vatican document “Dignitas Personae.”
And a Dec. 31, 2008, Catholic News Service feature looks at one committed Catholic couple who would like to adopt frozen embryos and were perplexed by the Vatican instruction.