Having Babies: Personhood or Product?

One out of every six married couples experiences infertility at some point in their relationship. Most couples expect and desire to conceive children, and thus fulfill their “procreative duty.” However, this desire is interrupted by the pain of childlessness. Modern technology has responded through procedures such as artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization (IVF). If these technologies are successful, the result is procreation, and alleviation of human suffering. While this may appear wonderful on a surface level, it does raise questions of whether we have correctly defined procreation. Our culture and consumerist attitude has altered the God-intended views of procreation and the way in which we approach child bearing. This paper will discuss procreative purposes in the light of Genesis, the relevance of the biblical commands today, how reproduction differs from procreation, and how reproductive technologies have affected societal views towards child bearing and the resulting shift towards a product oriented society.