In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) has brought the joy of motherhood and fatherhood to many married couples who could not conceive naturally. It would seem that such medical technology can only be welcomed, but the Church has a different opinion.
The Christian Church - both Orthodox and Catholic - prohibits its adherents from resorting to IVF. The priests assess this technology so negatively that they even refuse to baptize children conceived in this way.
The reason is not at all that IVF allows people to have children whom God has deprived of this ability. The Church is not opposed to doctors helping people, but help should not be associated with mortal sins.
Why the Church Bans IVF
Under natural conditions, one egg matures during each ovulation. For in vitro fertilization in a woman, with the help of special preparations, superovulation is stimulated so that several eggs mature at once. This is necessary to increase the chances of a successful outcome, because the egg is very easy to damage during manipulation.
All these eggs are fertilized and placed in a special incubator for 3 days. During this time, some embryos die. 2 embryos from among the surviving ones are implanted into the woman's uterus, the rest are to be destroyed.
The law does not prohibit the destruction of embryos, because they are not considered human, but from a Christian point of view, life begins from the moment of conception. The Church does not welcome IVF for the same reason that it prohibits abortion: this procedure is accompanied by the killing of unborn children, who, under such circumstances, even lose the hope of baptism.
Reasons for refusing to be baptized
A priest's refusal to baptize a child born as a result of IVF may cause confusion: yes, the parents have sinned, but the child cannot be punished for the sins of his father and mother. No one accuses the child of anything, and refusal to baptize is not a punishment.
Once upon a time, Christians were baptized as an adult; it was a serious, meaningful step of a believer. Currently, the Church is baptizing babies who cannot make any decisions themselves. Responsibility for their future faith, for their upbringing in the Christian spirit, rests with the parents.
A priest, with all his might, cannot look into the soul of every person, assess the degree of his faith. But if parents used IVF, this clearly indicates that they do not consider killing an unborn child a sin, therefore, they do not have a Christian worldview. Under such circumstances, baptism does not make sense: all the same, parents will not raise a child in a Christian spirit.
The priest will not refuse to be baptized if he sees that the parents who have used IVF sincerely repent of their deed. If this does not happen, it cannot be said that all is lost for such a child. If he, despite the unbelief of his parents, grows up a Christian, no one will forbid him to be baptized at a conscious age.
