wouldlikeadvice

Thallasa - I really like what you have written but I think I would find it difficult to adopt a child, although it is something I've always had an interest in doing. I'm also interested in embryo adoption.

I think the laws are similar but it possibly isn't as affordable as going to other places in Europe. Do you know how affordable it is in the USA?

Is that adoption or embryo adoption?

I am over 45 and that is why I would think about embryo adoption. I've always been interested in adoption but I don't think it's as easy as it sounds. I live in the UK and it's probably not the same as in the US.

Kari, I appear to have not replied to thank you for your reply. I'm always thinking about what I should do and I pray to God about it. I'm still anxious though because I want to do the right thing.

PaulTimothy, I have sent you a pm. otherone, I think that what you say is true about there being a special bond. I'm still stuck because I think I might be too old and have tried to accept being childless but I'm always regretting and I'm getting very depressed and withdrawn. I don't know what to do about my situation.

Ezra, I am very interested in adoption but I've heard that it's very difficult and that is why I have looked at the other options available.

PaulTimothy, I'm afraid I am still trying to make a decision. All I know is that I'm feeling depressed at the thought of doing nothing about my situation. However I don't want to make the wrong decision either and I haven't anyone really to ask for advice. I appreciate all the replies. This is a topic that is causing a lot of anxiety even though I pray to God about it on a regular basis. Thanks

God's Word is not limited to ancient times, but is applicable to every age and circumstance. Had God approved of such "interventions" there would be some sort of indication that man could interfere with a process that is strictly in God's hands. So your focus should be on what God says about natural childbirth and what it means, including the fact that human genealogies are important to God. Too many medical practitioners enjoy playing God, so beware of what secular medicine has to say. Since God knows everything including the future then he was aware these things would be available and didn't say no. Also as stated before...heart surgery wasn't available then, it was God heal you or you die...so should people refuse heart surgery? As a matter of fact heart surgery is not necessarily the best alternative. Please investigate issues with heart surgery for yourself, and how these invasive procedures have to be often repeated. What about the embryos that are being created on a regular basis in the medical institutions? What should be done with those? I would probably choose embryo donation over egg donation for the reason that the embryos would already exist.

(don't know why the quote has slipped into my box, which I was trying to get rid of) Suppose a baby is abandoned, and nobody ever finds out who its parents are. They will forever remain 'anonymous', which will be frustrating for the child as he/she grows up but I don't see any other problem. In the first century, Christians made a point of adopting babies who had been 'exposed' (left on the local rubbish heap to die). Some of those babies went on to be church leaders. If those Christian adopters weren't worried about anonymity, why should we be? I suppose those babies were already born. However, the embryos which are created at these medical institutions are for the purpose of helping women to get pregnant. Is it ok to have embryo donation when the egg donors and sperm donors aren't in a relationship when the embryos were created? Also, is embryo adoption/donation more acceptable than egg or sperm donation? Do you believe that life begins at fertilisation? If so, it makes no difference whether a baby is already born or just a bundle of cells: it is an individual created in the image of God. The motive behind our creation (on a human level) is immaterial. If you were adopting a baby 'already born', would you stipulate that its parents had been "in a relationship" when it was conceived? Why does this matter to you? And how would you define "in a relationship"? We are all stained by sin to some extent...Would someone conceived as a result of rape, for example, be 'unacceptable"? If we are commanded to love even our enemies, why should embryos/babies/children not conceived "in a relationship" be excluded from this particular manifestation of our love? As to whether embryo adoption is more acceptable than egg or sperm donation, acceptable to whom? You and your spouse? Only you can answer that. Your church? You will have to ask your priest/minister. Your family? Ask them. Anyone else? It's none of their business. God? If He hasn't laid down a rule on this in Scripture (which He hasn't), then just ask yourself if you doing it out of a desire to please Him or to please yourselves. I also believe that life begins at fertilisation. What I'm trying to decide is whether or not it's ok from a Christian perspective to have egg donation, sperm donation or embryo donation from a medical institution that are in the business of paying egg donors and sperm donors to help infertile or older women to get pregnant? I realise there is nothing in the Bible to state that it's wrong, but such interventions weren't available then and therefore I don't know what to think really. I appreciate every reply that I get because I've tried to get answers from various other places online and this is the only place where I've received Christian views on the topic.

(don't know why the quote has slipped into my box, which I was trying to get rid of) Suppose a baby is abandoned, and nobody ever finds out who its parents are. They will forever remain 'anonymous', which will be frustrating for the child as he/she grows up but I don't see any other problem. In the first century, Christians made a point of adopting babies who had been 'exposed' (left on the local rubbish heap to die). Some of those babies went on to be church leaders. If those Christian adopters weren't worried about anonymity, why should we be? In 'the end times' people will be lovers of themselves,they will try to overcome God's methods to the point of using scienceto avoid the natural laws which He created .We have no right to do more than help a heterosexual couple to overcomeany obstacles like like blockage of the womans tubes ,and to enable an increase in sperm count for the male .Making babies outside the way God designed us to have them shows impatience ,interference in God's laws ,and taken to the extreme,finally allows people like homosexuals to bypass the Laws of Creation ,entirely . We are living then 'outside ' of the Law . What about the embryos that are already created in the medical institutions? Should they be discarded even though they are produced for the purpose of helping women to have a child of their own?

(don't know why the quote has slipped into my box, which I was trying to get rid of) Suppose a baby is abandoned, and nobody ever finds out who its parents are. They will forever remain 'anonymous', which will be frustrating for the child as he/she grows up but I don't see any other problem. In the first century, Christians made a point of adopting babies who had been 'exposed' (left on the local rubbish heap to die). Some of those babies went on to be church leaders. If those Christian adopters weren't worried about anonymity, why should we be? I suppose those babies were already born. However, the embryos which are created at these medical institutions are for the purpose of helping women to get pregnant. Is it ok to have embryo donation when the egg donors and sperm donors aren't in a relationship when the embryos were created? Also, is embryo adoption/donation more acceptable than egg or sperm donation?

What would you tell an embryo adopted child with anonymous donors? I definitely think it's important for them to know they're adopted.

What if the embryos already exist though? What should be done with those that have already been created? I think that in the medical institutions which provide donor eggs and sperm treatments, the left over embryos are kept as back ups. Shouldn't those embryos be given an opportunity to develop as well? The only problem is that the donors are anonymous.

Yes it is best to know your genetic parents, for it is remotely possible though not likely that someone else has done the same thing and you might actually marry your brother or sister and create little weirdo's when having a new generation of children. It is also medically sometimes helpful if you know of any genetic problems that might be passed on to you. As for using someone else's eggs (fertilized or not) I don't remember reading anything in the Bible that I could say says no. I think it would be best to either use an egg or sperm from your own family if possible. That's just my personal feelings about it. I can't think of anyone in my family that I could ask. With regard to the medical institutions that provide egg and sperm donations, the donors are screened for any genetic problems that could be passed on but they are anonymous donors and there is no way to contact the donors. It's difficult to know what to do for the best.