What moral anxieties are generated by religious opposition to assisted reproductive technologies?
Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) is a modern medical technology that can help infertile couples have children through artificial methods such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), surrogacy, and egg donation.
This technology has faced significant resistance from some religions due to its perceived immoral nature.
One moral concern raised by religious groups is that ART creates unnatural and ungodly ways of reproduction. They argue that natural conception should be respected as it reflects God's will and involves only male and female partners involved in intercourse. According to them, IVF and related procedures violate human dignity and create a new form of procreation contrary to God's design.
Another concern is that ART leads to the creation of 'designer babies.' Religious leaders believe that the process allows parents to choose the traits they want their child to have, such as gender or appearance. This can lead to genetic manipulation, which can alter the course of history and undermine divine providence.
This technique may also result in the destruction of embryos, which they consider to be sinful.
Religious organizations also worry about the commercialization of ART. They fear that IVF clinics will exploit vulnerable people for profit and offer services that are not morally acceptable. Some even suggest that doctors encourage women to undergo multiple rounds of ART despite knowing the risks involved.
A further concern is that assisted reproductive technologies increase the risk of eugenics.
If parents use pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to screen embryos before implanting them, they could selectively eliminate genetically flawed ones. The resulting children would not be fully formed and could lack essential qualities like compassion, generosity, and empathy.
The religious opposition to ART is rooted in the belief that these techniques contradict natural law. They argue that fertility should occur naturally without any external help and that parents should accept the children given by God. Therefore, ART challenges traditional family values and threatens society's moral fabric.
What moral anxieties are generated by religious opposition to assisted reproductive technologies?
Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) have been around for decades, but they continue to be controversial subjects of debate among many communities and religions due to their perceived ethical implications on family values. Religious groups often oppose these technologies because they believe that they can undermine traditional conception of procreation, interfere with God's divine will, and threaten the sanctity of human life.