by Katie Schuermann
When I imagined the joy of announcing to my parents that they had become grandparents, I could not also imagine joy in explaining to them that their grandbabies were being kept in a clinic until further notice.
The very thought of such an exchange checked my ambition, for it drove home the point to me that children belong with their parents. To try explaining anything otherwise highlighted the absurdity of IVF.
Put another way, parents cannot parent children stored in a clinic, and grandparents cannot help raise grandchildren they never see nor touch. No-one in the family can live out their God-given vocations in IVF, for creating children apart from their parents stunts and disorders basic human vocations.
If your conscience is burdened because you used IVF, know that you are not alone in your regrets. The apostle Paul teaches us in his letter to the Romans that “none is righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10). He also writes that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Please, talk to your pastor or a trusted Christian friend about your regrets, and put your faith in Jesus’ words from the cross about His work of salvation on our behalf: “It is finished” (John 19:30). Because of Christ’s mercy, we can live our lives looking backward in repentance yet forward in hope.
