Babies Without Mothers?

“Motherless babies could be on the horizon after scientists discovered a method of creating offspring without the need for a female egg” (Telegraph, September 13, 2016). Scientists from the University of Bath have created mice using this new technique. They are now planning to test this process with animal skin cells. One thought is that the “technique raises the possibility that gay men, for instance, could have a child whose DNA was half of each of the couple” (ibid.). In theory, a man or woman could also fertilize their own cells, providing all the genes necessary to sire a child with genes from a single parent. Current technology would still require a woman to carry the child in her womb—at least for now (ibid.).

The Bible reveals that God has previously intervened in history when human activities have gone in destructive ways. At the tower of Babel we are told, “they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them”—so God confounded their language to stop this defiant act (Genesis 11:6-9, RSV). As mankind pushes into scientifically and morally uncharted territory, it will be interesting to see how far God will let this current attempt go before He intervenes again. For more on the future of science, read or listen to “Has Science Made God Obsolete?”