Since 1978, when the first baby was born through the method of in vitro fertilization there has been much controversy surrounding it. The question of whether or not it is moral, as well as if it is healthy or not, is still a debate that can heat conversations among many people. The only question I have when concerning this dispute is, “Who are we to tell a couple ‘no’?”

The first people that come to mind when I think of test tube babies are those couples who are infertile. Many of us cannot understand what it is like to be told that you can never have a child. Sometimes the body is not equipped to handle the embryo or the sperm count is too low to fertilize, among other things. IVF has given these people a chance at parenthood, and who are we to tell them they cannot have a family of their own? IVF is the one chance they stand to have a child of their own with their own bodies, not having to resort to an adoption agency for a child.

I also think about a group of people who most do not take into consideration when addressing this matter. There are many couples who have to worry about genetics. Just watch one season of “House” and you will get a small glimpse at the various diseases that we pass on in our genes. Those who are at a greater risk are the carriers of certain diseases. As a parent, no one wants to pass on bad genes to their children and possibly increase their risk of having health problems as they grow up.

IVF gives these people the chance to choose the embryo that has the greater outcome of not having sickle cell anemia or Huntington’s disease. Some will say it is not moral to choose genetics and in very few cases I can agree. But how is it moral to let another child in the world who has to suffer these diseases and die young? We all feel a touch of sadness when we hear about the death of a child; if parents can choose between bringing in a child that will suffer or one who will be healthy, I would side with IVF.

Another group of people who are helped through IVF are homosexual couples. Yes, there is the choice of adoption. But for many years that choice was not one these couples were able to make because of discrimination. Also, having more than one option is a choice they would not have if it were not for IVF.

Even without the option, healthy heterosexual couples can still choose to procreate together or adopt a child. The fact that now homosexual couples have the same options gives them more of a fair chance at a family, whether they are recognized as a legal marriage or not by the law and by society in general.

Seeing IVF as a whole issue for the question of morality is the wrong way to view it. There are many sides to each story and although there are cases when perhaps the moral value of a person is come to question, it is the choice these people make with the option that should be the moral issue. It would be one thing to see IVF as a debate between how the people choose to pick the embryos, whether or not it is for health reasoning or for superficial reasoning.

Asking if it is moral to give families a chance at a normal child or just a chance at a child in general is a bit unfair, especially because each family has many different circumstances that could affect their decision-making for such a process.