Masters of life




When a 65 year old woman became pregnant and carried the pregnancy in her own womb, it made headlines. The doctors had pumped in hormones in to that woman to prime her uterus and make it younger to be able to accept and carry the gestation. The ovum was fertilized in vitro and then implanted in the uterus. And finally she delivered a healthy young boy. It was all success for the doctors and propaganda for the clinic. They had just defeated the rules of nature and become powerful masters of life and death.

The picture of the mother and child occupied the centre pages of most of the magazines for many months.

Last year, while giving bath , the child just slipped in to the shallow basin of water and was drowned to death. The mother was attending a telephone call. That news also made head lines.

I have seen many such miracles happen at the hands of doctors, but all the years of efforts and success simply wiped clean by a clean sweep in seconds.

It was the sad death of the only child of a friend of mine which prompted me to these thoughts. The lady is soon passing the age of pregnancy, and the child was the result of all kinds of medical advancements. Being a doctor couple, they had used all their resources and professional contacts to get advanced fertility treatments. The child died of an obscure illness last week.

Being a doctor myself, I am likely to get ridiculed when I look suspiciously at the many weird things the present day doctors attempt to do. Advancements in fertilization techniques have given a godly aura to some of the gynecologists. When they think they are able to do something, they start believing they can do every thing. That they are masters of birth and death.

There was a time when couples who had problems to conceive by natural methods would accept it as a matter of destiny, or for those who believe in God, as His choice. Times have changed.

God said "I will make man in My image". Now the human race believes that they can take this prerogative of God and not only make, but design men and women to the image of what they think man should be. With that facility they think they can create people, and therefore they think that they can destroy them as well. And that is happening right in front of our eyes. It is time we realize they have very limited ability to create human life. They only have a limited ability to provide the circumstances under which that life will be created by God, but still they take credit for him. I can see eyebrows rising when I talk about God and creation, still. In fact, the best humans can do is to use nature’s laws of creation by putting together egg and sperm or by cutting the cord that maintains physical life with its creator.

Man's earliest desire of wanting to know has made it possible for him to understand certain things and take pride in them. He then believes he can be like God. He hopes for the supreme power over life and death. And this desire was the reason why we were pushed out of paradise. We are getting impatient and restless with the knowledge we have acquired. And that impatience is leading to all the troubles of the modern world.

“Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise; because of impatience we cannot return.”

35 comments:

  1. So sad to hear about the couple.Can imagine how bad they feel.
    And your last sentence is unfortunately true.

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  2. So often, compulsions will drive the course of one's life in just the same way they'll drive expectation, and hope, often against hope itself.

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  3. It amazes me how the science is mastered in such a way that we play God. It's scary.

    Thank you Dr A. for stopping by my blog, and as always, for your kind words.

    If you email me your mailing address, I will be glad to send you a copy of my book.

    doris.plaster@yahoo.com

    Thank you Dr. A. for sharing the gifts of your heart.

    Doris

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  4. Feel very sad for the couple, and a 65-year-old woman bearing a child is ridiculous. But, I feel that those unable to conceive naturally should be allowed to try infertility treatments without morality being involved as long as they are healthy otherwise. If that is the logic, then there should be no medical science. After all by treating disease, doing transplants, saving lives -- aren't we playing God? Though, I agree that sometimes things are stretching too far...

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  5. You have raised some very pertinent issues in this post. I would like to ask why people need to go through so many tests and medical procedures to conceive when there are so many orphans in the world just needing parents? But again, I should not because nature has been kind to me and I obviously do not understand how others feel about this. I sometimes wonder if procreation is a basic human instinct that we want to fulfil that makes us run one fertility clinic to another...?

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  6. Every advancement in technology/science is a a boon and a bane.

    Infertility is on the increase, blame it on the stressful environment, career, ambitions and such. But doctors have used it to their advantage which is pathetic.

    I read about how every other pregnant woman is opting for C-section and sadly the doctors seem to cooperate.

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  7. in my in laws a child fell down from the roof,and remained safe,except minor injuries,and on the other hand a child of my husband's friend fell down from the bed and died on spot by broken bone of his neck,

    so sometime strange things happens around and feel hard to believe,

    god bless doctor.

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  8. my heart felt condolensces to the couple ..

    I too feel that too much interference with nature is bad. Dont know where we are heading , I do think that instead of spedning so much money on treating infertility why not adopt kids who are sufferening , there is so much pain in the world why not bring it down by giving a good home ot a child ...

    I know we all want our own child our own blood but then if we adopt a baby and love them as our own won't they be our child then ...

    I hope and wish all the best to the people who are trying there best to have a baby .. god bless

    Bikram's

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  9. Humans have evolved and now think that we can challenge the mother nature! Maybe someday we would conquer death too!! And maybe someday we would make this beautiful place a Hell to live in!!

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  10. I agree with Meera Sundarajan's comment totally. It is a sensitive issue. And I feel terrible for the parent who lost the child in both cases. It is such a terrible loss.

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  11. Doc, I wonder why couples who cannot have children , women who cannot conceive naturally or through the medical gimmicks , adopt a child. There are many little ones orphaned very early in their life, and in many tragic circumstances.

    There are people who make bee line to all sorts of pranksters and fake God men, go on pilgrimage and take wired vows in places of worship, and get fooled by in-vitro specialists. throw their savings away.

    And the pity is that even the educated the enlightened ones stoop and indulge in such nonsense. The wisest way, the sublime way I guess for such couples is to adopt a child.

    Why that thought , culture has not got to us I dont want to guess.

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  12. my deep condolescence for the couple..its such a unbearable loss..!
    A race is going on between nature and advanced science, where the winner and looser are the unfortunate mankind.

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  13. My heart goes out to the couple..but I have supreme faith in god..his ways are unknown to us but he only knows what is best for us and science can nevr master HIM.

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  14. Excellent Doc, A thoughtful read..

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  15. I felt extremely bad to hear about the couple. My heartfelt condolence to both of them. God Bless them.
    You are welcome at my new posts-
    http://amazing-shot.blogspot.com/
    http://urmi-z-unique.blogspot.com/

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  16. What a fascinating post. I have very mixed feelings about all the medical advancememts being made, some to the good, others, well, I'm not too sure.

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  17. the article has covered many issues thus difficult to comment.
    feel sad for your friends.

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  18. I feel bad for the couple who lost their child.Unfortunately or maybe fortunately man has not been able to conquer death. If he does that then the devil in him would do worse things than all the terrorists put together.

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  19. I can imagine how terrible your friends would feel.. so sorry to hear..
    On one hand IVF is a boon to parents who are unable to conceive naturally.. but on the other hand , come on doctors please don't abuse the situation.. God is blessed you with magic in ur hands.. put it to some good use..

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  20. Very sad to hear about your friends who lost their only child. I hope they be consoled and blessed with another child soon.

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  21. This is a very good post and you are right about man becoming too wise for his own britches. I am also sad to hear about your friends baby. You know that people that can't have children also adopt. I don't believe in fertility drugs, they create too many babies that people can not afford.

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  22. I simply love your blog. Thanks for taking time out to write.

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  23. I had read the article too. Felt bad then too. And sorry about your friends child too. I sometimes think it is better to adopt and give a life to a kid rather than go for this. I guess, it is perspective.

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  24. Dr.Antony,

    Once again a very good article. We need to find a balance between science and playing god. Of course scientist would always strive to do better and better.

    Sorry to hear about your friends' child

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  25. i share your views, doc, but i dont express them in public for fear of being labelled laidback.

    it's always sensible to acknowledge the existence of lakshmn rekha.

    i, hwever, am pleassntly surprised that a person in your profession caan come out with these views,

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  26. You go Dr. Anthony! Well written and very much received! I truly loved this post! I will have to come back and re-visit it each time I feel impatience. Way to go! I just gotta say, Amen!

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  27. In fact, the best man can created, use the egg and sperm together with the laws of nature or the physical life of the author that the cable is to be cut

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  28. I went through this post and the previous one you had mentioned at my blog. Some affirm religion in submission, the rest of us through opposition. Perhaps It is the truly indifferent that holds any hope. Please read, if you get time, 'Life and times of Michael K' by J.M.Coetzee. You might get an idea of what am trying to express

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  29. Come to think of it, sometimes I feel that doctors (some doctors) just go by the book with no regard to common sense of basic instinct or "gut feelings"
    One of the reasons why my friend died (when she was only 60) and that too in a land where medical science and facilities are supposed to be "advanced" (my latest post)

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  30. i felt so sad for the couple..how sad...hmm..i really liked ur post...beautifully said...:)

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  31. I liked your blogs but I was a little disappointed to read your comments and those of people who obviously have not gone through the pains of infertility advising to adopt or not to go for fetlility treatments. Having a child of one's own is a dream that most humans have so for some reason if that is not possible naturally but is possible with some medical help why would a normal human being not go for it. Adoption is a choice that anybody can make those that have children and those that cannot. So people should not insensitively advise others without understanding the pains that a couple that cannot bear a child go through. Furthermore, if IVF and other such treatments are meddling with god's creations why do we have transplants or any medication.

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  32. Hi
    I didnt mean to contradict anyone else's convictions.I have been in this profession for long enough to make my own conclusions.
    I am not against any advancements in medicine.But what if these fail and you cannot reach your dream? I just said that one still has options.With all the advances in medicine,I know how very little we can do when we fight illnesses.I believe only those who are destined to live, reach a hospital.Others die before they even know it.

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  33. thanks for your comments. I am sorry if I sounded harsh.

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  34. Dear friend,
    This is an open forum and I dont usually edit any of the comments.Feel free to talk,I am not at all offended,you never said anything like that.We don't have to agree on everything.Then what is the point of responding?
    Thanks for the comment.I got busy recently and couldn't do many posts.

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