IVF: Value and Dignity in Smallness

We’ve just celebrated the birth of the infant Jesus who, in His smallness, grew in wisdom and age to become the Savior of humankind. We also commemorated the death of innocent children who became the first martyrs, paving the way to humanity’s salvation. What inestimable value there is in smallness!

In 2013, the Philippine Supreme Court emphasized the significance of smallness by pronouncing that the minute fertilized organism is human and that upon fertilization, the life of a new human being commences.

Advancements in assisted reproductive technology (ART) have made infertility more treatable. The first in vitro fertilization (IVF) baby was born in the United Kingdom in 1978, and since then, over eight million babies have been born worldwide through IVF. In the Philippines, there is a growing number of IVF clinics and practitioners across the country.

The IVF process starts with the stimulation of the ovaries to encourage more than one egg to mature, leading to the fertilization of multiple eggs in a laboratory. However, only some of these embryos are transferred and get implanted in the womb; the rest are discarded or frozen indefinitely, which raises concerns about the lack of respect for human dignity and violation of the right to life.

Multiple embryos are transferred to the uterus to increase the likelihood of at least one of them successfully implanting, a process that sometimes results in multiple pregnancy. In this case, a surgery called fetal reduction is sometimes resorted to for the woman to deliver fewer babies. In other words, in order for the woman to have the chance of carrying a single child, many more are created that will in the process either die after being discarded or frozen or directly killed after implantation.

In vitro embryos are living human beings, and their smallness does not diminish their humanity. Regardless of their size, age, or stage of development, they merit protection from harm and need to be accorded the fundamental right to life. Their worth and dignity are equal to yours and mine.

MARIA CONCEPCION S. NOCHE,
president,
Alliance for the Family
Foundation Philippines, Inc.