BY SHANTI GRUMBINE
Following LABA’s reading and discussion on Sarah, I couldn’t help but think about Sarah’s inability to bare a child in light of today’s technological advancements, including cloning, genetic modification, IVF (manual fertilization in a laboratory dish), and surrogacy. Sarah is barren until God builds her a womb at age ninety, after which she conceives Isaac. This story seems unbelievable, but so do the options available today. I was looking through The New York Times and some science journals at headlines. Here’s a brief listing:
“Uterus Transplants May Soon Help Some Infertile Women in the U.S. Become Pregnant”
“Her Body, My Baby”
“Coming to U.S. For Baby, and Womb to Carry It”
“Are Scientists Playing God? It Depends on Your Religion”
“Engineering the Perfect Baby”
Scientists are developing ways to edit DNA and one can look at pictures and profiles of sperm donors. These technological interventions bring into question many issues of beauty, fertility and love.
I’ve created two newspaper cuts in honor of Sarah.
Shanti Grumbine, a visual artist, is a fellow at LABA.