What child is this...

I recently came across this article about prenatal genetic testing. It talks about how some people who are deaf or have dwarfism are interested in IVF of embryos that will grow into children with their same genetic difference. I am opposed to IVF and other fertility treatments, not because I think the procedures are "playing god" as some say, but because I consider it fairly selfish to go through extraordinary means to obtain a child with shared genes when there are so many children at home and abroad who need homes.

When I was in college I attended a screening of videos other students had made for a class. As a part of one video, there was an interview with a middle-aged lesbian couple. When they were asked the question "if you had a child would you prefer them to be gay or straight?" one woman replied that she hoped her hypothetical child would be gay. Her partner answered that she would prefer her child to be straight, because she wouldn't want her own child to face the same kind of discrimination she had faced.

When someone decides to have a child, they usually want what is best for the child. They want their child to have all of the good things in their life and none of the bad. Nurture doesn't always work. You can raise up a child in the way you think he should go but in the end, he may well depart from it. Folks are thinking about manipulating nature in order to help influence the kind of person they get to raise. That makes a lot of sense. The only problem (other than the slippery slope towards eugenics) is that the foolishness of God is wiser than men.

I believe that we are all children of God, in possession of a great potential only known by God. My professional/academic accomplishments, financial status, medical history, race, gender, orientation, abilities/disabilities do not have any relationship with my worth as a human being. We are all one in Christ.

The human race seems to have the "go forth and multiply" thing down. We seem to be struggling more with the keeping "orphans and widows out of distress" part.

Love,
Elizabeth Bathurst