This article originally appeared in Ethics & Medics and is reprinted with the author’s permission.
In vitro fertilization, or IVF, is the most commonly used assisted reproductive technology to treat infertility in the United States. In 2021, about 2.3% of all babies born in the U.S.—which equals 86,146 babies—were conceived through IVF or related methods.
IVF involves several steps. First, the woman receives medication to stimulate her ovaries to produce multiple eggs. Then, the eggs are collected using a needle. In a laboratory, these eggs are mixed with sperm from the father. The fertilized eggs develop into embryos over several days. Some embryos are then implanted into the woman’s uterus, while others may be frozen for later use.
Embryos created through IVF can also be tested for genetic conditions and sorted accordingly. Usually, the eggs and sperm come from the couple trying to conceive, but sometimes donor eggs or sperm are used. IVF is also important for young cancer patients who may lose fertility after chemotherapy or radiation treatments.
Despite its benefits, IVF has sparked intense ethical and legal debates. Recently, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos accidentally destroyed in a clinic accident are legally considered children. This decision allows parents to seek civil damages for their loss. The ruling stirred controversy and was upheld when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the IVF clinic’s appeal.
At the heart of the IVF debate lie fundamental questions about biology, morality, and law. Are embryos created through IVF human beings deserving moral respect and legal protection? Or are they simply biological tissue without moral or legal status?
When Does Human Life Begin?
The most crucial question is: when does human life begin? This question is often treated as philosophical or metaphysical. Some argue that being human depends on having a heartbeat, brain activity, sentience, or the ability to feel pain or think. Others consider development stages or acquired skills.
However, from a biological standpoint, the answer is clear and has been understood since the early 19th century: human life begins at fertilization. When sperm fertilizes the egg, a new and unique human being is created. This human life then continues to grow and develop.
Denying this biological fact leads to illogical conclusions. For example, if life begins only after a heartbeat or brain waves appear, then before that time the embryo would either be part of the mother’s body or a non-human organism. Both ideas are scientifically false. If the embryo were part of the mother, women would literally have male and female reproductive parts simultaneously—a concept not supported by biology. If embryos were non-human parasites, pregnancy would be classified as a disease, which it is not.
Profound Ethical and Metaphysical Implications
Because life begins at fertilization, it makes no sense to call an embryo a “potential human.” A sperm or egg alone is potential human life, but once they unite, the result is an actual human being.
The embryo shows many real and potential characteristics. It is alive, has a distinct male or female sex, and a basic body structure. It metabolizes nutrients and synthesizes proteins. The embryo also has the potential to develop a heartbeat, brain waves, feelings, rational thought, and other human traits.
This combination of actual and potential traits is not unique to embryos. All humans, at every stage of life, have both actual characteristics and potential for growth or change. For example, adults may potentially become parents, retirees, or learn new skills. We are all fully human regardless of our age or development.
IVF Embryos Are Human Beings
Therefore, embryos created by IVF are as fully human as their parents, the medical staff in the clinic, or anyone walking outside the facility. Being human does not depend on age, size, or cognitive ability. From embryo to elder, every person is human.
Ethical questions about IVF embryos are, therefore, questions about real human beings. They are not abstract debates about “potential life.”
What Defines a Person?
Two questions often get mixed in IVF discussions: When does life begin? And when does personhood begin? These are different questions.
Life begins at fertilization—this is scientifically clear. Personhood, however, is a moral concept. It refers to when a human being gains rights and deserves respect and protection.
Some rights, like voting or driving, depend on age or ability. But dependence does not affect a being’s humanity. Embryos depend on a womb or lab equipment, but so do newborn babies, elderly people, and those with disabilities. Dependence is part of being human, not a disqualifier.
It is ironic that IVF supporters argue embryos are less human due to dependence, yet all humans depend on others daily—for food, shelter, and care.
The Right to Life
The most fundamental right is the right to life. All other rights depend on this one. Without the right to life, rights like voting or practicing a profession are meaningless.
So, what about embryos? Are they entitled to the right to life? There are two answers: either all human beings are persons with rights from fertilization until natural death, or personhood begins sometime later, based on traits like sentience or age.
The second view creates a dangerous category of humans seen as disposable. Since embryos are undeniably human from conception, IVF technology singles them out for special treatment—freezing, testing, selection, or discarding based on genetic factors.
Arguments about sentience or dependence do not hold. Newborns and elderly people with severe disabilities are fully human and deserve respect and protection. Ethically, those who are vulnerable should receive even greater care.
Denying the personhood of IVF embryos undermines the moral foundations of bioethics.
The Human Industrial Revolution
IVF represents a new industrial revolution—the manufacturing of human beings. With advances like artificial wombs, precise genetic testing, genetic engineering, and even cloning, humanity faces new ethical dangers on a massive scale.
In the future, children might be created for specific purposes: to be aggressive soldiers, obedient slaves, physically attractive individuals, or tissue donors.
In a world already troubled by war, slavery, and human trafficking, IVF technology could produce humans on demand for specialized uses. While IVF offers hope to infertile couples, it also opens a door to troubling and potentially harmful bioethical challenges.
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