THE MODERN TECHNOLOGICAL ADULTERY - A CASE OF ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION

Written by: Promise Edem Nukunu (MD, BS.Dent/Psyc.T)

THE CASE:

A Christian sister in a certain Church got pregnant, the Church decided to discipline her since she was not married.

When the elders of the Church met her, she told them she has stayed in the Church for years and no one is marrying her hence she is almost reached the period of menopause were she could not get pregnant if married.

For that matter, she went in for artificial insemination since she wants a child. She provided the medical documents which showed that she has done the artificial insemination without getting married.

The Sister is pregnant. Could there be an act of fornication or adultery!!!.

COULD THIS BE A SIN?

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Artificial insemination, also known as intrauterine insemination (IUI), is a medical procedure in which a man's sperm is implanted (placed artificially) in a woman's uterus at precisely the right time and in precisely the right location in order to increase the chances of pregnancy. As a matter of generalization, this process is used when the sperm count is not sufficient (i.e when there is an infertility problem on the side of the male) to allow pregnancy or there is some physical or psychological problem involved in sexual intercourse. Although this process is not clearly described in the Bible, a biblical principles can still be derived and utilize regarding the subject matter.

The phenomenon of pregnancy is purported by God to occur within the adherence of marriage between a man and a woman, who are lawfully married to each other. Human race was charge by God in Genesis by the declaration that Adam and Eve were to multiply, increase and fill the earth. Apparently, according to the Bible, pregnancy is to occur between the man and a woman who are married to each other. Sexual relations outside of the marriage relationship are either rape, adultery, or fornication. God condemns these as being morally wrong and thereby sinful.

If the married couple is having a problem getting pregnant and artificial insemination is recommended by a medical officer, then it is acceptable under the following conditions.

A) Only the sperm and egg of the married couple are involved.

B) Fertilized eggs are not intentionally lost or destroyed. 

C) Both have consented for such procedure to take place.

D) There is a clear indication of inability to conceive via the natural order or couples prefer it to use such method.

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From my perspective, As long as both the egg and the sperm are from the same married couple, then I can see no problem with this process. After all, both the egg and the sperm belong to the married couple, and not from outside that marriage bond. If the married couple accepts the sperm from another man (a man outside of the marriage bond with that woman), then she is inviting the intrusion of another man's seed into herself. That is an Adulterous occurrence. If Jesus pointed out that it's not just sleeping with another man’s wife qualify for an adultery however, a mere thought and lust about such act is enough for you to have committed adultery. 

Hence the same way, this can be liken to the case of Adultery. . .

’Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5: 27-28

Today, there are lot of medical interventions available for both married and unmarried persons who wish to give birth. And among such is in vitro fertilization, in vivo and surrogacy, which means making a contract with a woman who agrees to become pregnant and deliver a child for you. As an advice, we must be careful among other things what we accept. The choice of this must be considered in the context and content of marriage. But in the case of surrogacy, it’s neither here nor there. In surrogacy, choice of such act could be in vivo, in vitro or natural coital method.

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The single lady who went in for artificial insemination, that’s in this case, using another man’s sperm to fertilize her egg. There is no idea as to whether the man’s sperm for which you receive is single or not married. If such a person is married, then the lady has committed an act of adultery. On the other hand if the man is unmarried and single then there is an act of fornication, hence getting pregnant and carrying his seed.

In what desperation will an unmarried lady seek for such procedure if not married as a Christian. Let consider the psychological issues. The child future demands in the quest to find his true paternity background. What will the lady tell his/her child? will you show the child another man who may not be responsible as his/her father?

Will the child accept the outcome and live with the trauma of born as a bastard? These are but few questions which probably may need an answer. Let us not use short term gratification/solution to answer problem/needs that require a long lasting solution.   

In addition, if the process of artificial insemination involves the fertilization of many eggs with only one being implanted in the womb of the mother, this is not acceptable since the other fertilized eggs must then be discarded. This is not an acceptable option for a Christian couple since it risks destroying human life.

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Christian marriage is a covenant between the husband and wife before God with people as witnesses. This covenant is taken seriously by the Lord.  It should also be taken seriously by the couple.  God knows all situations and circumstances. If a Christian couple cannot get pregnant and if the only way the wife can get pregnant is through the donation of sperm from a man outside of the marriage bond, then it is best to avoid that pregnancy.  Otherwise, the couple is inviting into the woman's body the seed of another man -- which is adultery. If the couple desires to have children, they should adopt. This prevention of pregnancy could be a means by which the Lord arranges for couples to adopt, thereby, taking care of other children.

Some claim that using another man's sperm to impregnate a woman is not morally wrong because there is no physical act of adultery involved and there is no intention of adultery. Again, others may say, if the husband agrees, then how could the impregnation be adulterous?

We must be very careful to not let situational ethics govern biblical principles. God has ordained that husband and wife, a married couple, be the bearers of children within that covenant bond of marriage. Whether or not the physical act of adultery has occurred or not does not excuse the fact that the sperm of another man has entered the body of a woman to whom he is not married.

Reference

1. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/217986

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2. https://www.slideshare.net/Mevelle/artificial-insemination-9986645
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3. http://www.womens-health-advice.com/assisted-reproductive-technology/artificial-insemination.html
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4. http://www.peoplenewstime.com/artificial-insemination-ups-chance-of-successful-pregnancy-by-22/
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5. https://carm.org/what-does-bible-say-about-artificial-insemination

A NATION IN CRISES - DILEMMA OF CHILDREN IN RURAL COMMUNITY FOR EDUCATION

Source : https://www.unicef.org/png/ed_png.jpg

Malala Yousafzai ( Pakistani Activist for female Education and Noble Prize laureate  ) said, "In some parts of the world, students are going to school every day. It's their normal life. But in other parts of the world, children are starving for education;it's like a precious gift. It's like a diamond…" This is exactly what the children in Deme and other deprived villages experience every blessed day.

On any given day, more than 1 billion of the world’s children go to school. Whether they sit in buildings, in tents or under trees, ideally they are learning, developing and enriching their lives.

 Source: https://data.unicef.org/topic/education/primary-education/#

For too many children, though, school is not always a nice experience. Some endure difficult conditions, like missing or inadequate teaching materials or makeshift sanitation facilities. Others lack appropriate curricula. Still others may be forced to contend with discrimination and even violence. These conditions are not conducive to learning or development, and no child should have to experience them. Other children may not even have the opportunity to have a first experience at all in school. To such children, the question perhaps is: what does the future holds? 

A denial of education is equivalent to depriving one of the basic fundamental right to live. It’s as equal as imprisoning one’s thought in primitive thinking and subjecting the person to psychological torture.

Edem Promise with school children at Deme 

(one of the major affected communities)

According to the UNICEF report 2016, over 59 million children of primary-school age are still out of school and more are being denied access to basic education. more than half of them live in sub-Saharan Africa. The challenge is most acute in West and Central Africa, where the net enrollment rate stood at 74 per cent in 2013. Although government attempt to make education accessible for all children, however, a lot also need to be done. As recorded by UNICEF Ghana, Nearly 623,500 children of primary school age in Ghana are not enrolled in primary school and one out of four children in the kindergarten age range (from four to five years of age) are not in pre-school. Most of these children are of poor economic background and lives in the rural community.

The story is not different from some rural communities in Ghana hence not exempted from this crises. Some include Deme, Korsakope, Avorvlortey and its environs located in the Volta region of Ghana, West Africa. The children from these environs have no access to education in their communities, hence,walking about 10.00km to the nearest community and back for education. Why should they suffer such torture? Children just for the their zeal and their love for learning have to withstand the harsh weather conditions in the midst of several other risk factors starring at them.

Photo courtesy of LS media for PeaceAids International (c) 2017.

Edem Promise with school children from the affected communities

Nearly over 124 children from such communities from the age of 1 year -12 years do not go to school due to access and distance. Most of these children who enter school at such age find it difficult to read or write. The gap left is eminent. From where comest their help?  

These are children whose parent pay taxes in any form and contribute to national growth and total Gross Domestic Income in the country yet they are marginalize. 

Indeed, education that is of poor quality is tantamount to no education at all. There is little point in providing the opportunity for a child to enroll in school if the quality of the education is so poor that the child will not become literate or numerate, or will fail to acquire critical life skills.

The children from these communities miss the early childhood experience that intend to prepare them later in life. Averagely, a child from any of the communities has to be at least six (6) years of age before they start their primary education.

Edem Promise (right) with Torgbevi,(left). This child want to be a
medical doctor. But in the face of this challenges can her
dreams be achieve?

In the first years of life, children establish the cognitive, emotional and social foundations upon which they build their futures. Early childhood is the most significant developmental period of life. A baby who is visually stimulated, continuously engaged in interactive activities, hugged, cooed to and comforted is more likely to fully develop cognitive, language, emotional and social skills, all of which are vital for success in school, in the community and subsequently later in life. Further studies have also indicated that, for every $1.00 invested in early childhood program, there is a $4.00-$9.00 returns.

Yet, nearly half the world’s children – especially those from marginalized populations – are likely to miss out on programmes that can develop these skills in early childhood; the children in these communities are perfect case studies. 

PeaceAids team visit to the rural community for problem assessment
and meeting with community heads.

A child's brain develops rapidly during the first five years of life, especially in the first three years. It is a time of rapid cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional and motor development. For example, a child learns many words starting at around 15–18 months. Rapid language learning continues into the preschool years.

Each time the child uses one of the senses, a neural connection is made in the child's brain. New experiences repeated many times help make new connections, which shape the way the child thinks, feels, behaves and learns now and in the future.

In developing countries, studies indicate that early childhood development (ECD) programmes lead to higher levels of primary school enrollment and educational performance, which in turn positively affect employment opportunities later in life. On the reverse, children who start school late and lack the necessary skills are more likely to fall behind or drop out completely, often perpetuating a cycle of poverty.

In the face of these stories and situations, The PeaceAids International strives to improve young children’s capacity to develop and learn, and to ensure that their educational environments provide the necessary tools they need to flourish. We believe it is our priority to ensure that no child is at a disadvantage in realizing his/her full potential. All children of school-going age belong in the classroom!

PeaceAids team visit to the rural community for problem assessment
and meeting with community heads.

Our work on behalf of school readiness rests on three pillars: children’s readiness for school; schools’ readiness for children; and the readiness of families and communities to help children make the transition to school. Together, these pillars bolster the likelihood of a child being able to succeed in school.

Five reasons why we need to help;

1. Getting things done the first time is much more effective than trying to fix them later.

2. Building strong and solid cognitive and learning skills early in life can have a lasting impact on learning, behavior and health.

3. Highly specialized interventions are needed as early as possible for children experiencing toxic stress.

4. All society benefit from investments in children programs.

5. The early years of every child of school going age matter because, in the first few years of life, 700 new neural connections are formed every second. Neural connections are formed through the interactions of genes and a baby’s environment and experiences. These are the connections that build brain architecture - the foundation upon which later learning, behavior and health depend.

Let help.

Written by : Written by: Promise Edem Nukunu (MD, BS.Dent./Psychotherapy)

                     Secretary-General, PeaceAids International.

                     nukunu@cheriglobal.org

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Support the PeaceAids International rural community Education project.

Donate to our mobile money contact:

A/C Name: PeaceAids International 
A/C Number: 0546 915 459.
A/c type : MTN mobile money

OR donate to our Bank account

Name of Bank : United Bank for Africa

A/c Name: PeaceAids International

A/c Number: 00611082202503

Branch : Abossey Okai, Accra-Ghana

Contact us via e-mail : peaceaidint@gmail.com

‘’CEDI BAAKO P3’’ INITIATIVE FOR EDUCATION PROJECT

 ‘’CEDI BAAKO P3’’ INITIATIVE FOR EDUCATION

We are kindly entreating/appealing to 1 Million Ghanaians and the general public to donate at least GH¢1.00 through our mobile money number.

Account Name : PeaceAids International

Account Number : 0596328473

Account type : MTN Mobile money

Country code : +233

Click this link to view the full documentary here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hy-yIHruRGA

 And

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VF-Wo3QkYI

The ‘’CEDI BAAKO P3’’ which literary means ‘’ one Ghana cedi only’’ is a fund mobilization initiative of PeaceAids international and PeaceAids Ghana to help raise fund for projects being run by PeaceAids in Ghana especially it rural  education projects. The idea is to appeal to a million Ghanaians to donate at least GH¢1.00 to support these projects.

No one achievement has been accomplish without support from the society. For this reason, we humbly appeal to every single person or individual to kindly contribute towards the realization of these projects.

Children from Deme and its adjoining villages (Sabgakope, Dzokplenu, Kosakope, Patukope and Avorvlorte) always have to walk about 10.20km to Dabala (a suburb of South Tongu District in the Volta region of Ghana, West Africa) which is the nearest town to them to go to school or access the nearest clinic.  

‘’THE CEDI BAAKO P3’’ INITIATIVE, therefore, is geared towards raising fund to solve this problem and also pilot the E-delivery project and Adolescent reproductive health education in these villages.

The good news is that the communities has gladly accepted the project and have donated acres of land for the building of school, dispensary, library and ICT centre.

We are hereby entreating the general public to donate at least GH¢1.00 through the PeaceAids International mobile money number.

Account Name : PeaceAids International

Account Number : 0596328473

Account type : MTN Mobile money

Country code : +233

Thank you for being a part of this global impact. Lend a helping hand.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ONGOING PROJECTS.

• RURAL COMMUNITY PROJECT

Quality primary education is a fundamental right of every child. This right is enshrined in the Convention of Rights of the Child. Among several things mentioned in the convention for the state to provide in order to ensure quality primary education is the provision of infrastructural facilities which should be accessible to all children.

Problem statement

The absence of basic school facility and infrastructure continues to impact negatively on children's performance in school and life.  

Proposed land for the building of the basic school for the affected villages.
photo credit : LS media (for PAI)

Related to the above is the fact that currently children of school-going age do not have access to quality basic education due to lack of basic educational facility around Deme and its other four (4) environs. For those who attempt to go to school, they have to walk for awfully long distances (about 5.10km thus 3.5 miles) to the nearest town, Dabala and walking the same distance back home, making an average total distance of 7.0 miles. As such, children of school going age do not attend school due to the very long distance they had to cover. They are sometimes knocked down by passing vehicles. Among the problems also are a lack of appropriate preschool facilities like teaching and learning materials, school, furniture, just to mention but a few in the existing school at Dabala. To make matters worse,  some of the facilities which house the children are dilapidated. 

The classroom is a wooden structure (shed - See picture below). Children cannot attend school during the raining seasons due to the hazards the rains pose. Parents prefer their children stay at home rather than expose them to the dangers on the way to school due to the rains. The situation is further exacerbated by the high poverty levels of the parents making it increasingly difficult to meet basic needs of children including prescribed school uniforms and some books.

some of current classroom of dabala basic schools. photo credit; LS media

To tackle the problem and to reduce the long distance walking, the PeaceAids International took the initiative to provide a 6-unit class room block which will include a health post for first Aid for the children, a library and I. C. T centre.

This project will be implemented using community centered development approach, such that the community is willing to make some level commitment by providing certain requirements. This they have done by donating acres of land to support the project.

Hence the ‘’THE CEDI BAAKO P3’’ INITIATIVE is geared towards raising funds to solve this problem for the affected villages.

Kindly help donate at least GH¢1.00 via mobile money number account details;

Account Name : PeaceAids International

Account Number : 0596328473

Account type : MTN Mobile money

Country code : +233

THE E-DELIVERY PROJECT

INTRODUCTION

Teenage pregnancy and maternal health  remains part of the most important public health issue in recent times. The rise in teenage pregnancies and other social menace connected to adolescent in these villages coupled with the high rates of infant mortality have been the result of lack of or limited knowledge on sex education and maternal health  issues among adults and adolescents.  This has attracted innovations and strategies by governments, donors, and civil society organization to help curb the situation.

Maternal health is of utmost importance throughout the world and for that matter captured in the United Nation Sustainable Development goals (SDGs).

From research, one of the causes of maternal mortality and infant death is availability of information for the expectant mothers to govern their actions and decisions during their pregnancy periods. We recognize such concern and as such the PeaceAids International has introduce the ‘’E-delivery’’ project to contribute towards improving maternal health during the periods of pregnancy. The E-DELIVERY PROJECT (Pregnancy school) is a system which will operate both online and offline to enable pregnant women to get access to information related to maternal health issues during the pregnancy period and through the post partum period . The online platform will employ the ‘’What social Application’’ ( whatsapp) that will make use of a health team available for interaction with the expectant mothers. Thus, a team of health personnels will be available on the platform with the expectant mothers who can contact them anywhere and anytime in any of our member states connected or signed on to the platform. The expectant mothers will receive expert advice on any condition the might be experiencing  and all their questions will be addressed. Details of this project are available on our website.

We intend to liaise with the clinics across Ghana and all around the world where our member states operate. These clinic will serve as referral point to our clients.

However, the expectant mothers who perhaps are illiterate and for that matter cannot be engaged in the online platform the will be introduce to be offline pregnancy school. The pregnancy school will be facilitated such that all pregnant women in the said community will gather at a designated place for health personnel to educate and talk to them regarding issues regarding their health. This would be done with the help of volunteering community health personnels will provide.

PeaceAids team community assessment and visit to one of the affected communities.
photo credit : LS media (for PAI)