Future Medicine: Ethical Dilemmas, Regulatory Challenges, and Therapeutic Pathways to Health Care and Healing in Human Transformation

8. Reproductive Technologies and Spiritual Technologies

8 Reproductive Technologies and Spiritual Technologies Case 8A Multiple Fetal Pregnancy “Reduction” In his declining years, Abraham prays for a miracle to help ease his wife’s old age. God tells Abraham that his seventyyear -old wife, Sarah, will have at least six children: “Although you will be back with Me at that point, your wife will face ethical choices, and her soul will continue to grow during her remaining days on earth.” Six months later, Abraham has passed. Thanks to a new “miracle” fertility drug, Sarah finds herself pregnant with sextuplets . Joyously, Sarah names the embryos: Isaac, Jacob, Noah, Moses, Elijah, and the youngest one after her beloved husband, Abraham. The doctor informs her, however, that because of her age, she can only bear two safely. Four must be sacrificed. “Sacrificed!” Sarah exclaims. “We prefer to say ‘selectively terminated,’” the physician says, in a quiet voice. “After all, we are talking about pre-embryos.” (Abraham, standing around Sarah as a spirit guide, gently places his hand on her shoulder. He smiles, remembering God’s words about giving Sarah a crash course in bioethics. The sixth level of Sarah’s energy field glows with pink radiance. Her mind, though, is troubled.) “But what do you mean?” Sarah asks. “Don’t my future children have the right to live?” The physician lowers her voice even further. “In our state, abortion is legal. In fact, the government will pay for your abortion prior to the conclusion of the third trimester. Fetuses are not considered ‘persons’ under the Fourteenth Amendment and therefore are not entitled to due process. Courts regard potential beings as having a status somewhere 277 between property and life, deserving greater respect than accorded to human tissue but not the respect accorded to human persons.”1 “Potential beings?” Sarah exclaims. “Do you mean Isaac, Jacob, Noah, Moses, Elijah, and Abraham?” The doctor lowers her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she says. “We must selectively terminate four of them.” “But which ones?” Sarah asks, thinking: Must I sacrifice my own sons to appease God? How have I offended him? What sin must I deconstruct? Is there no act of mercy to heal the split—the blessing of pregnancy, the burden of sacrifice? The physician responds, “It is still problematic as to which particular fetuses should have their existences terminated.”2 She pauses, letting the words sink in. “The choice is up to you.” She smiles gently, removing a set of instructions from her clipboard. “Our hospital therapeutics committee has enumerated criteria by which we are guided to decide. You can take this sheet home with you. As you’ll see, the guiding star is safety. We eliminate—I mean terminate—the pre-embryos that are weakest and let the healthiest two children survive.” She adds, “We do not discriminate based on gender, but this is not an issue in the case of your pre-embryos, as they are all boys.” “Safety?” Sarah asks, blinking rapidly. She thinks: I remember the biblical story. Jacob and Esau struggled in utero. One got hold of the other’s ankle and came out first. Extremely important in the days of primogeniture. What’s going to happen in my womb? Are they already competing for oxygen, blood flow, nutrients . . . knowing that four will be sacrificed—terminated—so the others might live? “There’s nothing more I can do,” the physician concludes, wrapping up—she is behind on her HMO schedule and does not wish to be reprimanded yet again. “But I can refer you to our complementary medicine clinic; there is an acupuncturist you might consult. He has helped many women with fertility problems—a few needles, and they get pregnant. Maybe he’ll have some advice for you.” She makes a few notes on the computerized chart. “While you’re there, we’ll make sure you see the mind-body specialist; she is a rabbi, with training in pastoral counseling, hypnotherapy, shamanism, and energy healing. She might be able to help you make your decision.” 278 • Future Medicine Case 8B Delivery “We know how much you love this child,” the Beings said to the brother-in-law, “and how you have welcomed her into her physical embodiment on this plane.” They stood around the hospital bed—his grandfathers, his deceased uncles, other ancestors, and still other unidentified beings—as she endured her next set of contractions. He could see them, although he was five...