REVOLUTION REPORT
The Center’s national conference, The Reproduction Revolution: A Christian Appraisal of Reproductive Technologies, Sexuality, and the Family, was a great success. Hundreds of physicians, nurses, lawyers, clergy, and lay people gathered on July 16-18 on the Deerfield, Illinois campus of Trinity International University, to wrestle with the challenging ethical issues that surround the use of reproductive technologies. Co-sponsors of the conference included Christian Medical& Dental Society, Christian Legal Society, Nurses Christian Fellowship, The Center for Family Life, and Trinity International University.
On the opening night, Joni Eareckson Tada spoke on the quest for control, drawing from her personal experiences of being a quadriplegic and also struggling with reproductive difficulties, while William Cutrer, Joleen Zivnuska, and Jeannie French offered accounts of personal and professional experiences with infertility. The following day, David Hager addressed how reproductive issues relate to the sexual revolution, and Gilbert Meilaender discussed the desire of many people to have children who are “their own”. Nigel Cameron commented on the separation of sex and reproduction, and John Kilner addressed the critical issue of human cloning. Gracie Hsu Yu concluded the afternoon by exploring our responsibility not only to make laws, but to change hearts. The evening featured a staged trial constructed by Christopher Hook. The trial was based on a surrogacy and abortion dispute and starred outstanding legal and ethical experts including the actual judge and attorney in the landmark Davis embryo case, Dale Young and R. Martin Palmer.
The final day of the conference began with an address by Tom Elkins on the use of reproductive technologies within marriage. Then Teresa Iglesias discussed the use of donor eggs and sperm, and Scott Rae offered an ethical analysis of surrogate motherhood. The final two plenaries, given by Charles Sell and Joe Mcllhaney, emphasized the importance of strong families and effective education. A wide range of paper presentations and professional- parallel sessions further enriched the program.