Izaak Falk
Editor’s Note:Izaak Falk of Cornerstone Christian School, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewanwon second prize in the Fr. Ted Essay contest sponsored by Niagara Region Right to Life. The contest asked participants to reflect on the statement:. You are a child in the prenatal stage of development. Are all the current biomedical/technological breakthroughs helpful in advancing your right to life as a preborn human being?
Am I undesirable? Does my mother even want a boy? Am I too big a burden on my father? Am I strong or smart enough? Will I be what people think of as handsome? Am I tall enough? Is my already curly red hair attractive? Is this mole on my arm ugly? I don’t even know how healthy I am; is my heart weak? am I prone to cancer? is my DNA as it ‘should’ be? Will my parents cherish me, or will they regret my existence? Am I worth all this effort? Am I desirable?
How could I be unworthy for society? What gives people the right to determine my worth by examining a blood sample? I am human, just like them. I have all the features of humanity. My genes are created the same way everyone else’s are. The combination of two haploid gametes creating a new organism has happened for every human of all time. Why then is my life less desirable than others? I will tell you why: it’s because I am inconvenient. I am a full-time job for my parents, I cause excruciating pain and agony for my mother. I may also be a reminder of failure. I could be an accident, unplanned and unpredicted. A result of a decision that may forever haunt my parents’ lives.
I also may not be a perfect child; I could have genetic conditions that could alter the way I live, or I could have traits that are less than ideal. I present a problem that shouldn’t be complex to solve. It involves fathers becoming providers and protectors of their families, mothers staying home for their children and showing them love, but, most importantly, families working together. It involves hard work raising me, showing commitment despite the difficulties my existence presents. But now it has been replaced with something simpler, and significantly less difficult. A procedure that is cost effective, deals with the problem swiftly, and has seemingly no repercussions. The choice is death. The murder of a child because the child is undesirable. It may be true that it is quick, but it is not painless. Imagine having your body torn apart, then try calling abortion painless. Some say it has no repercussions for my parents, but let me assure you, it will have a drastic effect on me. In my opinion, abortion is the most offensive technology ever devised. It is a killing procedure, designed to treat me inhumanely and dehumanize me. Yet, it becomes more destructive when combined with the devious nature of the various genetic screening technologies.
Imagine a world where, with just a few simple tests, you could know not only your baby’s sex, but exact genetic traits? You could see their potential IQ, their physical aptitude, or how they look. You could get a glimpse of my curly red hair or see my personality. And seeing that, you could decide about whether I am worth keeping. Combining these tests with the option of abortion is proving to be fatal to early-stage humans, like me. If my parents decide I am not worth keeping because my potential physical appearance is less than stellar, they could opt for a procedure to end my life. Or how about if my gender does not match their plan of the “perfect family?” Adolf Hitler could only have dreamed of this type of screening technology; he could have used it to weed out the particularly strong willed, or even select against certain traits. Blonde hair, blue eyes could be a requirement if you were to have a child. A first step towards “perfect” designer babies, family planning could reach a whole new level as parents seek out the perfect traits. Now little unborn children worry about their test results. Did they make the cut? Are their traits satisfactory? Are they worth bringing into the world? I worry that my own life will be dictated by a blood sample, that my own parents could decide I am not worth the trouble. Being able to make life or death decisions based on these tests is a danger to my life in the womb.
My “imperfections” have led many people to seek out gene editing technology. This has resulted in the idea of a designer baby. Parents can now have their perfect child with their desired sex, a high IQ, perfectly symmetrical features, tall, talented, and physical prowess. But if only these babies are desirable, then what does that mean for me? Just because of my flaws I am considered not even worth making, when instead parents could design their baby with gene editing technology. Everyday research is being performed and ‘progress’ made on more precise gene editing technologies. This total control over what is acceptable in people will have destructive results on natural born humans. These new gene editing technologies will alter the way we view humans, as something that can be changed if it is undesirable. They seek to weed out my undesirable qualities and make me their model child. They could change anything from my gender to my intelligence simply because it is more appealing for parents to have a perfect, made-to-order child. But their vision is clouded, my own parents do not understand the immense complexities that create a human child.
Finally, the technology that peers into the secret place of the womb has both benefits and dangers. Ultrasound may cause pain and damage, through super-heated tissues. It is extremely loud for still-developing ears. It may cause complications and is frankly overused to look for everything that could possibly be wrong with me. On the other hand, it also has saved so many preborn babies. A mother looking into my world and seeing me as I develop creates a bond between us. She humanizes me and is less likely to murder me. Seeing me grow is an important wake up call to parents. They see me and say, “That is human!” They can not hide behind their made-up names for me if they get to see me. I am not a zygote, I am a child. It is insulting to call me anything else, especially when they have the technology to see me. Ultrasound can be such an amazing tool, or one of the greatest insults towards our Maker. To look at a human and say it is anything other than that, is wrong. Look at me, smile, weep tears of joy, take a picture even, then turn off the noise and let me grow in the peace of my secret place.
The womb, which used to and should be a sacred place, is now filled with the fear of intrusion from needles, needless sonogram, and genetic editing. Technology is no longer a pinnacle of humanity, it is too often a reckless means to a dark end. Reproduction is corrupted by a worldview of convenience. Since babies are often inconvenient and unpredictable, our own genetics is being used against us, finding even the slightest flaw to justify our destruction. Am I undesirable? Would I be better as a designer baby? Yet I am a designer baby, as all babies are, designed perfectly by God who is present with me right now, knitting me together in my mother’s womb. He takes great delight in me, He quiets me with his love, He rejoices over me with singing! How could I be undesirable? I can’t. My value comes not from what parents, cultures, governments, or scientists say; rather I have dignity and worth because I belong to God and am made in His image. Think what you will about my features – my sex, hair, IQ, body type – it does not change who I am. I am child of God. I am desirable.
