AmericanPapist Comments
I have always regarded one of the primary reasons for marriage and the taboos on sexual activity outside marriage as being God's providential desire that we all know who our Daddy is. Sperm donation is merely remote adultery.
Identity is SOOOOOOOOOOO important. Children of anonymous sperm donors are denied an essential feature of their identity.
How do they keep from marrying their siblings?
So by this loose definition, adoption is wrong then as well. Adopted children do not have this sense of identity that is supposed to be "sooooooooooo" important.
How is growing up knowing that you were conceived from a donor different then being adopted?
It is amazing the insensitivity that people without infertility issues have.
How do they keep from marrying their siblings???? Seriously.
I think Elizabeth's question is a completely valid one. It is entirely possible that a half brother and sister could unknowingly get married.
As far as the insensitivity claim--- seriously? You have no idea if anybody here has ever struggled with infertility. Perhaps people with fertility issues should spend more time developing their spiritual relationships to help them understand what purpose these "issues" might have in God's greater plan for them rather than asking doctors to play God and "give me what I want"!
Doctors have a God-given talent. Your point is simiar to saying that heart-bypass surgery is "playing God".
You are right, I do not know if anybody here has struggled with infertility. And each couple that deals with this issue has to decide how far they are willing to proceed with potential solutions. These are deeply personal and spirtual decisions.
But what of adoption? Is a marriage that cannot concieve children less valid if the primary reason for marriage is children? Is an adopted child less important in God's eyes? Should they be shunned as bastards?
And I am assuming that the "Daddy" being referred to is God. Because in the end, it does not matter who your earthly daddy may have been.
Know your Daddy. Knowing who your sperm donor was does not matter.
David, adoption didn't bring about the child. Ideally, the parents of the child would have conceived it responsibly, in circumstances where they could welcome it into their family. Adoption of children who can't be raised by their natural parents is an act of mercy, and we've now learned that the search for identity is such that it is appropriate for adopted children to have the opportunity to contact their natural parents, and for the natural parents to learn what has become of the children.
There are also 'fathers' out there who sever all ties of responsibility to children who've called them 'Daddy' for years the moment the DNA test shows they are not theirs after all. On the one hand we seem to allow this, while on the other we allow children to be sired anonymously.
As for childless marriages, only God can say why He allows them. Children are a gift from God. As for insensitivity, well, lots of people don't get everything they want in life. Only some are singled out as specially deserving of sympathy. As for childless couples, they're couples, which is something not everyone's able to achieve. Maybe they've got to learn to be content with each other and serve God as they can, which may include adopting children who otherwise would not be cared for.
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