Children Are Gifts, Not Products

In late September, researchers at Oregon Health & Science University announced a breakthrough that could reshape the future of human reproduction: For the first time, scientists successfully transformed human skin cells into egg-like cells capable of being fertilized in the lab. By inserting the nucleus of a skin cell into a donor egg and inducing a reduction in chromosome count, they created eggs that could, in theory, lead to viable embryos. Of the eighty-two eggs fertilized, a small number developed into early-stage embryos, though many showed chromosomal abnormalities. While scientists emphasize that this technology is years away from clinical use, its potential implications are staggering. It could allow women without viable eggs—or even same-sex male couples—to have genetically related children. Yet this very possibility raises profound ethical and theological concerns: If human life can emerge from a lab-modified skin cell, what does that mean for the sanctity of life and the God-given design for conception?

The broader question of reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization (IVF) creates real tension within the Christian and pro-life communities. Just last week, the Trump administration announced initiatives to make fertility treatments more affordable, including a deal to reduce the cost of IVF drugs. While our culture often insists that children are burdensome, Christians must continue to resist that narrative. We recognize that raising children is one of life’s greatest blessings and affirm that life begins at conception; that each human being bears a soul before being fully knit together in the mother’s womb. Yet within the pro-life movement, debate continues over which technologies align with biblical ethics. IVF has allowed many couples to have biological children when they otherwise could not, but it also raises deep moral and theological concerns.

Millions of embryos—human lives—are now frozen in storage around the world, often referred to as “babies on ice.” The process of creating and selecting embryos introduces troubling ethical issues: Embryos are often genetically screened and discarded or indefinitely frozen. Even the collection of sperm and eggs involves morally and medically questionable practices. IVF severs the intrinsic connection between marital intimacy and procreation, reducing conception to a laboratory procedure, and ultimately, to the commodification of human life itself.

In the United States, IVF operates with minimal federal oversight compared to nations like the United Kingdom, where every clinic is licensed and monitored by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. By contrast, U.S. fertility centers are largely self-regulated; about 10 percent fail to report outcomes to the CDC, and there are no federal limits on the number of embryos created, frozen, or discarded in the process. This lack of oversight only compounds the ethical problems, opening the door for further exploitation.

The prospect of turning ordinary skin cells into eggs, and eventually into embryos, takes this one step further. It transforms human life into a product that can be easily created, bought, and sold. Such technologies, rather than dignifying life, further commodify it and deepen the fractures in marriages, family, and society.

While the administration’s intent to make family-building more accessible may appear aligned with pro-family values, it also exposes a deep inconsistency. One cannot champion life while simultaneously embracing practices that bring about its destruction at the earliest stage. This moment invites Christians to consider what it means to be fully pro-life, where conviction outweighs convenience.

It is tempting for Christians to celebrate any policy framed as “pro-family.” Yet Scripture reminds us that children are not manufactured goods but divine gifts. “Children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward” (Psalm 127:3). God’s design for family life is not arbitrary; it reflects his character and the relational nature. From Genesis onward, we see that human life springs from the union of man and woman; a creative partnership that mirrors the image of God himself (Gen. 1:27–28). Technologies that bypass or distort that design risk placing human ambition above God’s thoughtful design.

The White House’s announcement should prompt sober reflection among Christians, even those who have long supported this administration. To be pro-life means to defend human dignity at every stage and in every context, even when it challenges our preferred political leaders. We can celebrate the desire to support families while refusing to accept the destruction of embryos as a price of convenience.

This is a moment for the church to model integrity; to affirm good where it exists, to call out what is wrong, and to remember that our ultimate allegiance is to the Author of life himself. As James 1:17 reminds us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above.” Children are not owed to us; they are entrusted to us. To pursue parenthood apart from the moral order God established is to confuse gift with entitlement, creation with control.