Steep learning curves

There are moments in my life where the learning curve is steep. Right now is one of those moments. Making decisions about how to grow our family has opened my eye to the myriad of moral and ethical questions involved with in vitro. I thought it was a simple procedure of implanting fertilized eggs into the uterus, but then as I dug deeper into the process the whole idea of embryo selection, freezing the remaining embryos and then the question of what to do with the embryos that you no longer need/want really struck the wrong chord with my pro-life views. There is a wonderful article on the Vatican website that spells out the important questions a Christian must ask of herself when looking into this process. The link to this article is: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/acdlife/documents/rc_pont-acd_life_doc_20040316_x-gen-assembly-final_en.html . It is not light reading, but if you have 30 minutes, and you want to puruse the topic, it is an eye-opening read.

That being said, my interest in adoption has now been piqued even further. Did you know that you can adopt a child domestically by private means (simply an arrangement between two lawyers), through an agency or through a government program called "foster to adopt"? I had no idea. Then, if you are interested in international adoptions you must know the rules and current political status of adoption in the specific country in which you are interested. For example, right now U.S. citizens cannot adopt from Guatemala until some kind of Hague decision is made. China has curbed its adoptions because it wanted to look good for the Olympics (although they say it is because domestic interest in adoption is on the rise), adoptions from Russia and Eastern Europe are weighted down by the same issues present in U.S. domestic adoptions-- alcohol & drugs. Other countries like Korea and the Phillippines don't have these issues, the children for adoption from these countries are available because of poverty/abandonment. What madness and sadness there is in the world! But the beautiful thing about adoption is that it brings good-- family, provision, hope-- to situations that would otherwise be tragic. And the good comes to both those doing the adopting and those who are adopted.

So then, in vitro, though it does provide one with a child, also ultimately eliminiates many of the 5-20 lives it starts. It brings evil (death, indefinite frozen state, and at the worst, stem-cell research) to a good (life). But adoption, on the other hand, brings good (family, love, shelter, protection, education) to those children who need it most. What are your thoughts on in vitro? Have you ever explored the topic? I would be interested in hearing what others think about it as well.