Articles

03-16-11 - Outside the Womb

The use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) is on the rise.  Is it right - morally ethically biblically - to engage this new technology? Are there some aspects of ART that are more acceptable than others?  Click here to listen to Dan's interview with Dr. Joy Riley co-author of "Outside the Womb: Moral Guidance for Assisted Reproduction" from this week's 9:00am Wednesday Bookmark, brought to you by Salem Storehouse!    

20% off! Call 613-727-0203 to reserve your copy or visit Salem Storehouse (1558 Merivale Rd, 839 Shefford Rd or 315 Lisgar St)  Offer only valid for one week from the interview date. 

The use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) is rising, and not just among the wealthy and the weird. The most common user of reproductive technologies today may be an average American couple or single woman unable to have children naturally. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Americans use in-vitro fertilization (IVF) at a rate of 236 per 100,000 -- for a total of more than 70,000 nationwide. And that's just IVF; many other means of assisted reproduction are increasingly available.

As couples continue to delay child-bearing, and as the availability of fertility treatments rises, we can expect more and more Christian couples to make use of reproductive technologies. But how ethical are such treatments? What key issues should couples wrestle with before using any type of assisted procreation? These are the kinds of questions medical ethicist Scott Rae and Dr. Joy Riley seek to answer in Outside the Womb.

The authors don't condemn ART, but they do call Christians to give careful thought to what God intended for the family and to the ethical issues involved in various fertility treatments. Readers of the book will be better equipped to think morally and biblically about ART, both as a social issue and as a personal issue that affects their own friends, church members, and families.

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