You may have already read the in-depth look at IVF on the Unconscionable site. As a bonus, you may find Mike Pence's history relating to IVF to be an interesting one. In 2022, Mike Pence was articulating an unambiguously pro-IVF position.
"I fully support fertility treatments and I think they deserve the protection of the law," Pence said in an interview with "Face the Nation" that aired Sunday. "They gave us great comfort in those long and challenging years that we struggled with infertility in our marriage."1
Yet Pence, despite his claims, never technically used the IVF procedure. As a Catholic, he was likely well aware of the church's condemnation of the practice. But after struggling with infertility for six years, the Pences decided to use GIFT, a procedure that collects the male and female gametes (sperm and eggs), prepares them, and then places them directly in the fallopian tubes. By utilizing this procedure, the moment of fertilization technically occurs within the human body, avoiding the Catholic church's prohibition.
For years, Pence used this experience to advertise a pro-IVF platform. But after the Alabama ruling regarding unborn embryos, pitting pro-life advocates against the fertility industry, Pence decided to alter his tune. At the time, Mike correctly understood that being "pro-IVF" meant being anti-parental rights. "No couple, whatever their views about when legal personhood begins," wrote Pence, "would be happy to find their biological embryos treated with utter carelessness. Those experiencing infertility deserve the protection of the law as consumers and as parents. Embryonic children in an IVF facility deserve the same sort of wrongful-death protection that children in the womb enjoy from fetal homicide laws."2
Honestly, it's hard to disagree with such an assessment. Embryos absolutely deserve to be protected by homicide laws. Yet such a message coming from Mike Pence comes across as hypocrisy, not advocacy. Why would he have marketed himself as "pro-IVF" for years if he knew such a process resulted in wrongful deaths? Was he conflating the procedures (IVF vs GIFT) for political reasons or simply to avoid technicalities?
Such questions were partly why I wrote this article, though I fear this change in political messaging has more to do with politics than with morality. Regardless, Pence’s position relies entirely on the ill-defined concept of "ethical IVF" — a phrase currently functioning as an oxymoron by my count.
Perhaps if Pence had been more serious about applying Christian morality to his work, he might not have come across as a hypocrite later.
https://archive.ph/POGUO