Ethical Matters for Christian Spouses

Journal Entry: Image of God

The baby does have a human status; its imperfect physical development has not impacted its soul, which is a gift given by God. The baby, moreover, will be perfect in Heaven at the resurrection (1 Cor 15:13-18); however, to ensure the child is welcomed to Paradise, the baby should be baptized once delivered, as Scripture says: "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31). Moreover, Christ Himself said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them” (Mat 19:14). Neither should the woman fear carrying the baby to term, for as 1 Tim 2:15 states, “Women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.” So one can see here that there is no reason to terminate the life of the child growing in the womb; if God wishes to call the child to Him once the child has been delivered from the womb, that is God’s plan. But no one should play God and attempt to terminate the growth of the child because of some fear that one has. That is to lose hope in God. God is good, and His plans are always wise and good. The moral action here, therefore, is to carry the child to term, deliver the child, baptize the child, and should the child die be blissful in your thanksgiving that now you have a child in Heaven who sees the face of God. Ethically speaking, some might argue that the child does not have human status because there is no upper brain and no skull—but there is no Christian basis for such a declaration. The child has a soul—that is what matters for a Christian (Carroll, 2015).

Abortion cannot be justified from a Christian perspective, because it is an act of killing—infanticide—no matter how “reasonable” the excuse may be. If one is fearful for one’s life, one must pray and put one’s trust and hope in God. If one is fearful for one’s children, it is the same. But all fear comes from the Devil, unless it is a holy fear of God—which is what this woman needs to contemplate. She will risk offending God by killing one of His innocents? Rather, she should cultivate a holy fear of the Lord, as Proverbs 9:10 states: “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Moreover, the Christian Faith teaches against fear from the devil, as Christian-Faith (2020) teaches: “Fear is the opposite of faith. If we do not trust the Lord for every thought and action of our lives, fear becomes a natural phenomenon.” But Scripture reminds us that “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:6,7). Therefore, the mother should trust in God. Faith must be made stronger. Tell her to pray to the Blessed Virgin for strength.

Matt and Kelly need not accept infertility as God’s will, for no one knows the mind of God. Moreover, Mary was the mother of Jesus, but her parents conceived very late in life, after many prayers and years of struggle—they were Anne and Joachim (Arch Pitt, 2022). However, there is also Scriptural proof that God surprises those without children when they least expect it, and that is the story of Elizabeth who conceived John the Baptist late in her life (Luke 1:25). Yet, Anne and Elizabeth were faithful women—so the moral here is to never lose faith. Ethically speaking, artificial means of insemination go against nature and violate God’s plan for conception, which is that two shall become one (Mark 10:8). I would counsel Matt and Kelly to expand their criteria for adoption: perhaps this is God’s way to teach them to be more accepting and less narrow in what they would prefer for themselves. Perhaps there is a child out there who needs them, but they need to be open to that child.

The issues involved in this decision is that the Friesens are thinking about conceiving through unnatural means because they are fearful of what might happen to Barry’s sperm after chemo. What they might consider instead is an alternative means of treating Barry’s cancer that does not involve chemical therapy that will harm the body. There are many alternative treatments of cancer that are available and that are successful and that will not harm Barry’s sperm. One can start with Griffin (1997) who discusses how one can do this, but there are many options that can easily be found with a little worthwhile investigation online. So there should be no fear on that count. Aside from that, birth control and artificial insemination are unnatural means of conceiving; it is God’s wish to see you multiply: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Gen 1:28). Therefore, look to God in this time—not to fear—and ground your morals in His teaching and commandments.

Because I have a background in medicine I would first recommend Griffin (1997) to them, but I would also counsel them that there are many other natural means of combating cancer. Lanka, Cowan and others have discussed this at length (Cowan, 2019). So there is really no need to worry on that score. The health care industry’s primary aim is to eke out profits from people—that is what the industry puts first: profits, not people. If the industry actually cared about people’s health, they would be out of business because everyone would be healthy. Health is not a great secret; but the industry, founded largely by Rockefeller (the son of a snake oil salesman), is replete with profiteers. Avoid it. This will settle the problem of putting the poor woman through so much distress, and it will prevent the family from losing all its savings. Do not give the craven industry a single penny; but put your faith in God: “Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns--and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26). Pray to Him with faith, and He will hear you.

Artificial nutrition and hydration are extraordinary means that can be seen as excessively burdensome and, therefore, one is not under any moral or ethical compulsion to administer them (Brody et al., 2011). Christian ethicists have stood by this judgment for as long as feeding tubes have been around. God does not command us to do that which is unnatural. If medical science could keep one alive in a bottle for thousands of years, some might choose that or see that as a moral obligation—but it is not so. We are not meant to live on this earth forever. We are meant to return to God. So the best thing that one can do for a parent who can no longer be fed through natural means and who is refusing to eat or drink, is to make sure that parent is prepared to come before God. Let that parent be given an opportunity to make his soul right with God, with the sacrament of the sick. This is the proper care from a Christian perspective: “Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last” (Luke 23:46). Do not feel guilty about not stopping the removal of the feeding tube from the father. This guilt and doubt is from the devil. God will not judge you for not interfering just because you might have had ill feelings toward your father. That is a separate matter. On this matter of his death, there is no guilt.