Embryo Adoptions

It’s estimated that there are over 400,000 human embryos currently in cold storage at fertility clinics across the U. S. These tiny human beings were conceived through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) — an unnatural process that violates God’s intentions for how people should reproduce. One very difficult question that pro-lifers now have to answer is: What should be done with these embryos? One proposed solution is embryo adoption — sometimes also called “snowflake adoption”. Evangelical pro-lifers tend to favor this idea. The Catholic Church hasn’t officially ruled whether embryo adoptions are morally acceptable, so Catholic pro-lifers are divided on the issue. Most, however, do seem to think that embryo adoptions are morally acceptable. Annie, Eric, and I think so too. Personally, I think that babies who are conceived through IVF are in some way similar to babies conceived through rape: in both cases, these babies were conceived through an act that is morally wrong. But, the wrong action has already been done, and these new human beings now exist — and it seems to me that allowing them to be adopted is the most pro-life thing to do. The Pontifical Academy for Life, a group of Catholic officials and theologians that clarifies issues related to the Church’s pro-life teachings, will be meeting in Rome later this month to discuss matters related to human embryos, and may address the issue of embryo adoptions. An article on LifeSite has more details. (And, for more background on the ethical questions about embryo adoptions, read this article by Mary Beth Bonacci.) I’m interested to hear your comments. Should pro-lifers encourage embryo adoption? If not, what should be done with all the frozen embryos currently in cold storage?