The use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) is rising. Media
accounts of unnatural multiplies and aging celebrities having children represent
the exceptions, not the norm. The most common user of reproductive technologies
today may be an average American couple or single woman unable to have children
naturally.
As Americans continue to delay child-bearing, and as availability
of fertility treatments rises, we can expect more and more Christian couples to
make use of reproductive technologies. But how ethical are such treatments? What
key issues should couples wrestle with before using any type of assisted procreation?
These are the kinds of questions medical ethicist Scott Rae and Dr. Joy Riley seek
to answer in Outside the Womb.
The authors don't condemn ART, but
they do call Christians to give careful thought to what God intended for the family
and to the ethical issues involved in various fertility treatments.
