In Vitro Fertilization
The queries you raise about donors of eggs or sperm in cases of infertility and the state of the souls of frozen embryos relate to the broader question of the Bahá’í attitude toward recent advances in medical science which increase the probability of conception in cases of infertility. The Bahá’í view is very balanced. While appreciating the value of the new medical techniques which enable previously childless couples to enjoy the blessings of a family, the teachings define such limits as are necessary to preserve the dignity of the individual and the sanctity of marriage ... While artificial insemination is a very different process from in-vitro fertilization, the principle enunciated by the Guardian is the same, namely, that to be acceptable to Bahá’ís the egg cell of the wife should be fertilized by the sperm of the husband in the procedure. The spiritual and social implications involved in the use of surrogate mothers to provide for the gestation of the embryo, even when the embryo results from the fertilization of the husband's sperm and the wife's egg cell which is later implanted into the womb of the third party, are too far-reaching for such a procedure to be permissible to Bahá’ís.
- Universal House of Justice, Lights of Guidance, p. 347
Quote of the Day
Jalal 4 Rahmat 183 B.E.
Months before His leaving for Isfahan, the Báb had changed the title of His house to the name of His mother and wife, and also gave the prayer of Remover of Difficulties to His wife, so that any time she became griefstricken, she should chant it, and He would appear in her dream and comfort her.
Shahrokh – Darius K., TAHIRIH & KHADIJIH BAGUM, A transcript for audio-cassette from series WINDOWS TO THE PAST, p. 22