Can we see life and hope for the future in the trend of cryogenically preserved embryos being turned into pendant necklaces? As a matter of fact, it’s possible that in vitro fertilization (IVF) is turning the hearts of those in the pro-choice movement.
In the United States alone we have over 600,000 embryos in a frozen state due to IVF, a medical procedure whereby an egg is fertilized by sperm in a test tube, creating an embryo, which is the first stage of human life. Six-hundred thousand nieces, nephews, friends, family, strangers — newly formed humans — are waiting to grow inside a mother’s loving womb. Yet for one reason or another, they are unwanted or not needed. Hearing the way culture is discarding cryopreserved embryos in the United States is heartbreaking.
The millennial generation was raised in an era when killing unborn babies was permissible. It’s wrong; it shows our depravity and our great need for a Savior. As a society we have chosen to undermine the value and beauty of life — from the morning after pill, to partial birth abortion, and now harshly disposing of cryopreserved embryos. Has society as a whole become so self-centered that we can walk away and hide from the ghastly epidemic of abortion? While it may feel like our culture is becoming continually more depraved, I see a reason for hope in these dark, gruesome, and disgusting times.
Here’s an example: Baby Bee Hummingbirds, an Australian-based keepsake jewelry company, will now take your cryopreserved embryos and make them into a beautiful pendant. How does this work? The company sends the parent “embryo straws,” which are expertly preserved and cremated, creating a type of “embryo ash.” Why does this sad, evil, selfish form of “jewelry” give me hope? It shows that the next generation is finally seeing the sacredness of life. They are completely misguided, of course, and 100 percent wrong in their expression of it, but we are now seeing that a mother sees an embryo — the earliest stages of life — as precious and meaningful to her.
An online article featured on Kidspot interviewed Belinda Stafford, who chose a heart pendant through Baby Bee Hummingbirds so she could carry her babies close to her heart.
“We had been on a six-year journey of IVF,” she said. “It was painful, tormenting, a strain on our marriage and just plain hard. Finding this has brought me so much comfort and joy. I am finally at peace and my journey complete.” Because of IVF and cryopreservation, people are now seeing life at the earliest stages. As Ms. Stafford says, “My embryos were my babies — frozen in time. When we completed our family, it wasn’t in my heart to destroy them. Now they are forever with me in a beautiful keepsake.” Slowly but surely, these individuals are starting to feel and see the value of their embryos in their hearts.
God placed the value of life in every human being and no one can truthfully deny that fact. We see both value and worth in the human embryo. Life begins at conception (Psalm 139:13-16) and the foundation of a thriving society is life. Indeed, “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” is a well-known phrase in the United States “Declaration of Independence.” These are “unalienable rights” which have been given to all human beings by their Creator, and the government is tasked with protecting these rights.
When pro-choice women start making necklaces out of unborn embryos, they cannot deceive themselves any longer. In making and wearing the detestable “jewelry,” a mother is cherishing what could have been: her children, her offspring, and her beloved babies.
Because as we know, ALL life is beautiful, even the life of a cryopreserved embryo baby.
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