"Frozen egg baby hailed as fertility milestone"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,809837,00.html
1st Frozen Egg Baby in U.K. Born to Jws Parents
by Kenneson 12 Replies latest jw friends
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Kenneson
You will have to type the URL in yourself. My machine didn't show it all in blue.
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blondie
Based on the following quotes from the WTS, I wonder if this was acceptable for a JW?
*** w81 6/1 31 Questions from Readers ***
In recent years I have read of "test-tube" babies being born. What is the Biblical view of the procedure used in this?First, let us briefly consider what reportedly has occurred, as illustrated by the first instance, which took place in England.
The woman was unable to conceive normally because of a problem with her Fallopian tubes, through which the egg cell must pass to reach the uterus. So by minor surgery scientists extracted one of her ripe eggs and placed it in a laboratory dish with sustaining nutrients. Her husbands semen was added and fertilization occurred. After some days the group of growing cells (blastocyst) was carefully introduced into her uterus where it grew normally, and a baby was delivered.
In this case the sperm and the egg came from husband and wife. This is noteworthy from the Biblical standpoint. Why? Because of a law God gave to the ancient Israelites: "You must not give your emission as semen to the wife of your associate to become unclean by it." (Lev. 18:20, 29) That law was given when modern artificial insemination and "test-tube-" baby procedures were not available; yet it does indicate Gods thinking.
From the Bible we must conclude that if conception is accomplished with the sperm and an egg not from husband and wife, it would amount to adultery or fornication. The Scriptures leave no doubt as to Gods view of such: "God will judge fornicators and adulterers." (Heb. 13:4; Matt. 19:9) But what if a married couple who had not otherwise succeeded in having children were offered the possibility of submitting to the procedure described above? Here are some aspects to be considered:
Would all the mechanical steps involvedwith conception occurring in a laboratory dishmake the matter seem so unnatural or bizarre as to be ethically objectionable to them?
The egg in the dish (before and after fertilization) is sustained by nutrients. In at least some of the cases that have already occurred blood serum was used as the nutrient. Thus Gods law on blood comes into the picture.Acts 15:28, 29; Lev. 17:13, 14.
News accounts say that in some cases after conception scientists have destroyed the fertilized egg because they believed that it would not develop properly or would have genetic defects. If so, would this not be the equivalent of abortion? And to what extent would the "parents" have a voice in or responsibility for such a termination of a newly begun life?
Furthermore, some scientists are concerned about genetic abnormalities appearing, either during development in the womb or later.
These are aspects that a Christian would appropriately want to consider, though recognizing that in the final analysis a personal decision would have to be made.
[Footnotes]
See The Watchtower of August 1, 1977, pages 478-480.
*** g85 8/8 24 Parenthood Redefined? ***
CAN parenthood be redefined? Yes, suggests the title of an article in The New York Times: "New Reproduction Techniques Redefine Parenthood." At one time there was only one way to have a baby, but modern technology has added variations that raise disturbing problems.What are the "new reproduction techniques"? Five mentioned by the newspaper are: (1) Artificial insemination of the wife (either by the husbands seed or by a donors). (2) Embryo transfer. If the woman cannot produce viable eggs, another woman can be inseminated with the husbands sperm. The fertilized egg can then be extracted from the female donor and implanted in the wifes uterus. (3) In vitro fertilization. The wifes egg is extracted and fertilized in the laboratory by the husbands sperm, then implanted in the wife. (4) Surrogate mother. If the wife is unable to go through a pregnancy, another woman can be artificially inseminated with the husbands sperm and have the baby for them. (5) Frozen materials. Sperm, eggs, and embryos can all be frozen and stored for use in one of the ways outlined above.
These new ways of having babies are designed to help couples when either the man or the woman is infertile. The legal problems raised by such techniques were discussed at a conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The conference discussed such questions as, What is the status of an embryo in the laboratory before it is implanted? What should be done with frozen embryos if the couple that produced them both die? It was also noted that "nothing in the law [of the United States] at present bars the opening of frozen embryo stores, where genetic materials would be sold commercially."
The controversial arrangement of surrogate motherhood raised especially difficult questions. Is a surrogate mother, who is paid to produce the unborn child, selling her baby? If neither the couple nor the surrogate mother wants the childperhaps because it is born with a handicapwho is responsible for it? What if a surrogate mother wants to keep the baby after it is born? What rights do the couple who initiated the arrangement have?
Truly difficult moral and legal questions arise when, as Dr. George J. Annas reported, the increase in sex without procreation in our time has come full circle with the advent of reproduction without sex.
*** g95 9/22 29 Watching the World ***
New Hope for Infertile Couples?A new medical technique is helping infertile couples to overcome their sterility, reports the French news agency France-Presse. The technique, which was pioneered in Denmark, involves using an extremely fine glass needle to place a single male sperm upon an ovum within the woman. Although the technique is meticulous and requires great skill (a sperm measures just two thousandths of a millimeter; an ovum, one tenth of a millimeter), the method has proved successful. It has the added advantage of taking place inside the womans body and using her husbands sperm rather than that of an anonymous donorthus avoiding sensitive moral and religious questions. Because poor-quality sperm is the cause of sterility for a third of all infertile couples, a doctor using the technique feels that many couples may now have renewed hopes of starting a family.
*** g74 8/8 27-8 Is Artificial Insemination Acceptable to God? ***
What Is the Bibles View?THE first recorded case of human artificial insemination dates back to 1799. London physician John Hunter then used this means of making a woman pregnant with her own husbands semen. But only in recent years has artificial insemination become relatively common, with thousands of babies born each year as a result of it. When married couples resort to artificial insemination, it is generally because of the husbands sterility, and the donors of seed usually remain anonymous.
For centuries, people have viewed as an adulteress any woman who became the mother of a child not fathered by her husband, and the offspring has been considered illegitimate. Certain courts have taken a similar position regarding artificial insemination by anonymous donors. But viewpoints vary. Whereas some religious organizations object to such a method of impregnation, other groups favor it.
The Bible says "there exists a way that is upright before a man, but the ways of death are the end of it afterward." (Prov. 14:12) In view of this, and because human reasoning often is faulty, one does well to ask: Is artificial insemination acceptable to God? What does his Word, the Bible, indicate?
For many years, artificial insemination has been employed in animal breeding. God gave man dominion over such creatures and allows him to use them for food, clothing, and so forth. (Gen. 1:28; 3:21; 9:2-4) The Mosaic Law forbade interbreeding animals of two sorts, but it did not otherwise limit what man might do to regulate animal reproduction. (Lev. 19:19) So, some Christians have felt that the Scriptures do not prohibit artificial insemination of animals.
But what about human artificial insemination by anonymous donors? That is quite another matter. For one thing, it can foster numerous problems. To illustrate: The resulting child may serve as a constant, nagging reminder of a husbands inability to father children. There may be some desirable elements lacking in the relationship of the man and the child, or even in that of the husband and wife. Some men have become "insanely jealous" of the unknown donors, and certain curious women have stolen hospital records to learn the identity of their childs father. Uncertainty about parentage may pose emotional problems for the child. Furthermore, mothers and adopting fathers may be conscience-stricken as they live a lie by representing the offspring as entirely their own.Ps. 40:4.
Though admittedly remote, another serious possibility exists. The anonymous donor might be closely related to the woman, and their offspring may suffer detrimental physical or mental effects because of the consanguineous relationship. Along similar lines, note what happened some years ago. A doctor received quite a shock when he learned that two particular young persons were planning to enter wedlock. Why? Because he was the only individual living who knew that they were half brother and half sister. This physician had impregnated both of their mothers with the seed of the same donor.Compare Leviticus 18:9.
The people of ancient Israel did not have to face the question of human artificial insemination by an anonymous donor because it was not then being done. But the faithful among them would have shunned it completely, for God had decreed: "You must not give your emission as semen to the wife of your associate to become unclean by it." The penalty for disobedience was death. (Lev. 18:20, 29) Artificial insemination of a married woman by a donor other than her husband makes her guilty of adultery, a sin against God. (Deut. 5:18) Christians know that adulterers will not inherit Gods kingdom and are warned that "God will judge fornicators and adulterers" adversely.1 Cor. 6:9, 10; Heb. 13:4.
Inasmuch as artificial insemination by an anonymous donor is not acceptable to God, if a Christian married couple resorted to it, they would be in line for expulsion from the modern-day congregation of Jehovahs people. (Compare Leviticus 20:10.) After all, the consenting husband in effect gave his wife to another man, and the wife gave herself to that person in order to become the mother of a child by a man with whom she had not been yoked together by God in matrimony. (Matt. 19:4-6) The absence of direct physical contact and the fact that the consenting husband adopts the child cannot set aside the adulterous conduct.1 Cor. 5:1-13.
Some Christian marriage mates who are unable to produce children have been told that this problem might be overcome if the husband provided sperm that could be administered to his wife artificially. If both husband and wife fully agree to have this done, that would be a personal matter, as Gods Word says nothing about it and a resulting offspring would be their own; it would not be a child of adultery. Nevertheless, they would have to resolve any personal questions of propriety as to the manner of acquiring the semen. Similarly, they would bear the responsibility if any medical or psychological difficulties resulted from the procedure.
Whether married Christians will adopt a child or not is also something they must decide. True, they may be very disappointed that they cannot have children of their own. Nonetheless, even if they have no children, such individuals may be assured that their earnest prayers to Jehovah God for his holy spirit and aid in cultivating such qualities as peace and joy will not go unanswered.Luke 11:13; Gal. 5:22, 23.
Many have found true happiness in Gods service though they did not have children. In ancient Israel, large families were common and barren women felt great disappointment. Nevertheless, Jephthahs daughter fulfilled her fathers vow to God by remaining unmarried and childless all her life. Was she constantly depressed and miserable as a consequence of this? No, for Jehovah gave her joy in service at his sanctuary. (Judg. 11:30-40) Then, too, in these "last days," many Christian marriage mates view childlessness as a circumstance allowing them greater freedom to pursue the interests of Gods kingdom.
Christian husbands who wish to father children but are unable to do so can draw comfort from Jehovahs assurance at Isaiah 56:3-7. In such circumstances, both Christian mates can be certain that, if they remain faithful to God, the greatest joy in life can still be theirsthat of having the approval of God.
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Lady Lee
Baby born from frozen eggs - UK first
Oct 11 2002
A woman has become the first in the UK to give birth using her own frozen eggs.
The Midlands Fertility Services clinic near Walsall used a new technique where "anti-freeze" protects the egg when it is frozen and then thawed.
Experts say the birth of Emily Perry three months ago gives hope to women who are worried about losing their chance of having a child through illnesses such as cancer.
But Dr Gillian Lockwood says: "The technology... will work just as well for the Bridget Jones generation who want to freeze their eggs to keep their reproductive options open."
She told ITV: "I think that egg freezing may come to be seen as the ultimate kind of family planning."
Emily's parents Lee and Helen, who have been married for 17 years, say they turned to IVF after discovering that Mrs Perry had blocked fallopian tubes.
However, as Jehovah Witnesses, they did not feel they could go through with standard IVF treatment. Usually several embryos are created and those that turn out not to be needed are discarded.
The couple, who live in the Midlands, decided to go for a procedure known as natural IVF where only one or two eggs are taken which are then fertilised and transferred back into the woman so embryos are not wasted.
However, it was discovered Mrs Perry had a condition called Ovarian Hyper Stimulation and so the medical team froze the eggs.
Six out of eight eggs survived the thawing process, two were successfully fertilised and they were implanted into Mrs Perry but did not take. The procedure was repeated and this time it worked.
Trinity Mirror Plc 2002
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minimus
There is already a judicial commitee being formed and they plan on disfellowshipping the baby.
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rocky220
Meanwhile, while all this scientific/un-natural baby making is taking place, there are orphans languising in institutions desperately needing homes.......I just sick of it!!!!!rocky220
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LovesDubs
About 5 years ago, my nonJW sister in law had some miscarriages and was desperate to have a child. Since she didnt have a problem getting pregnant but rather carrying, I offered to surrogate for her using invetro of her egg and her husbands sperm. I was already out of the org. When my JW husband found out I had offered to do that for his sister he was furious because I "hadnt asked him". Well...they dont ALLOW that since my carrying somebody elses baby would be considered adultery and I was determined to help her if I could. Why would I bother to ask him if I already knew the answer? I wonder if having sex with a turkey baster is a disfellowshipping offense too? :)
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scootergirl
LovesDub wrote:
I wonder if having sex with a turkey baster is a disfellowshipping offense too? :)
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gumby
I wonder if having sex with a turkey baster is a disfellowshipping offense too? :)
Ya know....I was thinkin about this. I'm glad I WASN'T a fly on the wall when this incident took place.....I think I'm getting old.