Swimming Aimlessly by Jon Waldman

Author:Jon Waldman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: S&S/Simon Element
Published: 2021-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

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Perhaps surprisingly, some major religions are very clearly on the side of ART. Witness, for example, Hinduism. “Children have always been important since time immemorial and the continuity of the family unit has been of major significance in Hindu culture,” reported Fertility Plus.4 “Indian mythology is full of stories about what couples have done in the past to overcome their problem of infertility. Hindu Religion has tried to understand the natural hurdles infertile couples may face to fulfill their social obligations, and made alternatives available.”

The emphasis, it seems, comes from the strong, simple obligation to have children. “Each individual is bound by Dharma to produce one child who must perform the annual ceremony of Shraadha (offering oblations to ancestors),” Fertility Plus continues. “This child is a Dharma Putra. The Shraadha offerings enable the ancestors to nourish themselves in their abode—Pitr loka. Without a Dharma Putra to make that offering, ancestors suffer torture, hunger and thirst on Pitr Loka.”

So, if you’re ever looking for a motivation booster, there you have it.

And it isn’t just Hinduism—Buddhism also takes a positive approach to ART, says buddhisma2z.com.5

Buddhism does not object to this procedure as such because it helps to alleviate a particular type of human suffering (the distress of not being able to have children) and it does not contravene the third Precept. However, there are several aspects of IVF that could be ethically problematic. Some religions object to IVF because the sperm is obtained through masturbation, which they consider to be a sin. Buddhism does not raise this objection, firstly because while it does not consider masturbation to be skillful, it does not see it as evil, and secondly, while it may be unskillful, in this case the intention behind it would be a good one.

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