Birth Control: In Light of Genetic Disease

Jump to Comments

“But what if…a couple has a genetic disease that they do not want to pass along to their would-be children?”

This is no easy question, and in our pursuit of the answer, we need to take the Word of God and the kingdom of Christ very seriously. Emotion and reason alone will only lead us to a half-hearted theology of hollow comfort. Let us wash these considerations in the Word, and then see in them the reflection of God’s heart for our families, and our children. As Christopher Ash notes, “This is not a matter of rules; it concerns aligning our values with the declared valuation of the Creator. We are to value what he values and to desire what he says is a blessing.” Here are a few things that we are forced to take under consideration:

1) How should we view genetic diseases in light of Scripture?

“Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” – Exodus 4:11

“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” – John 9:1-3

It should be no surprise to us (especially those of us of the Reformed school) that God is sovereign over human disabilities. ::cue the music:: He’s got the whooooooole “DNA molecule” in his hands// He’s got the whoooooooole “DNA molecule” in his hands//…you get the picture. Although all disease, being a foreshadow of death, is a result of life in a fallen world – we see numerous warnings in Scripture (take Job for instance) to refrain from assuming that any suffering is a direct result or punishment of personal sin. So what does Christ imply in the above verse, and what do we know about even genetic disease in a Romans 8:28 world? As Paul said, “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” — including genetic disease — “that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

2) Closely tied with the issue of genetic diseases is the idea of suffering. So how does Scripture comment on the place of suffering in our lives?

“Then the LORD said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings…‘” – Exodus 3:7

“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” -Romans 5:3-5

“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” – 2 Timothy 2:3

The constant pressure of modern culture is to eschew suffering. We want to make everything as painless as we can. The temptation is to forget that Christ suffered — according the perfect will of God — and we have no reason to believe that it will be different for us, his followers. Charles Spurgeon once addressed it this way:

“Lift up thine eye again; dost thou discern those bright spirits clad in
white, purer than alabaster, more chaste, more fair than Parian
marble? Behold them as they stand in glory. Ask them whence their

victory came. Some of them will tell you they swam through seas of

blood. Behold the scars of honor on their brows; see, some of them

lift up their hands and tell you they were once consumed in fire; while

others were slain by the sword, rent in pieces by wild beasts; were

destitute afflicted, tormented.”

Sufferings are not an unfortunate byproduct of everyday life. Scripture confirms the fact that they are blessings given to us by God – in order to conform us to the image of his Son. Perhaps one of the most gracious things that God can do for us is to let us suffer, thereby driving us to the foot of the Cross. To flee from such suffering is not the picture that we are given in Christ. I don’t believe we should wish suffering on our children, but knowing that suffering will come, we should never forget that it eventually “produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame…”

3) How are we commenting on the value of the lives of genetically diseased children?

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” – Genesis 1:27

We tread very dangerous ground we when begin implying (either by our words, or by our actions) that certain human beings, or classes of humans, have more or less created value than their “healthy” counterparts. Do children with down-syndrome bear less of the imago Dei than children without the disease? To imply so in words would be reprehensible, but are we not implying so in practice? When we make judgment calls based upon the medical disposition of our would-be children, we are saying to God and the world, “We feel that it would be better for us and the child if they were never born…” This is what I’ll call “the Job syndrome“…times 2. Job wished that he was never born, but even he was in the midst of great suffering. But when we make the preemptive decision to lament a would-be birth before any suffering has even occurred, our actions are doubly dubious — denying even to walk as far as Job did in faith, and cutting down the 40 days of desert temptation to a moment of fear. In short, we make it clear that the life of that child is not worth the suffering that would be endured, giving no heed to the grace of God. By this we testify that children who are diseased and suffer are not deserving of life — but as we saw in Exodus 4:11, God apparently disagrees.

4) And what is the greatest of all genetic diseases in our consideration of birth control?

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” – Psalm 51:5

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…” – Romans 5:12

If we grant that birth control is a moral response to preventing the passage of genetic disease, then friends, I’ve got bad news for the whole human race. There is no disease more pervasive, no plague more deserving of keeping from our children, than the burden of a sinful nature — and yet, every child that was ever conceived (with the exception of the Lord Jesus Christ) has inherited that very thing from their parents. But even in the midst of that sin, there has been cause for rejoicing for the redemption of Jesus Christ. Even in the midst of that suffering, there has been glad singing of the Mighty hand of our Healing Physician. In the midst of it all, God has received the greater glory. And what right have we to withhold it from Him?

What do you think?

‘BH

10 Comments

Filed under Birth Control, Culture, Ethics, Life, Pro-Life, Quote, Religion, Scripture, Theology