In this video, Russell Moore makes the case for why IVF and embryo adoption are different and why Christians should see the value of embryo adoption.
Sometimes people who know that I’m not supportive of in-vitro fertilization will ask me how I can be supportive of embryo adoption. I think embryo adoption is a perfectly ethical thing for Christians to pursue. And for those who are called to it, it’s a very good thing for Christians to pursue. I know there are some people who would agree with me on in-vitro fertilization, say, many Roman Catholics, for instance, who would oppose embryo adoption for the same reasons.
But I think though there’s a big distinction. I think with embryo adoption, we’re dealing with a child who already exists. If we believe that life begins at conception, then embryo adoption is not coming in and trying to manufacture or commodify life. Instead, we’re taking a child who already exists and simply needs the care and the ecosystem to move to the next stage of life. Someone who is participating in embryo adoption I think is doing the exact same thing as someone who is adopting a child who is a year old or 12 years old, just at a different stage of development.
And so, I think embryo adoption is perfectly ethical and a good thing for Christians to be called to do, because we’re called to care for widows and orphans in their distress. That includes those that the world would call “embryos.”
