Hymowitz's article deals with issues most families never discuss around the dinner table, but this is hardly an issue intelligent Christians can ignore.  As with so many other reproductive issues, evangelical Christians have been in the habit of assuming that a technology like artificial insemination is basically benign.  By now it should be obvious that this is a misplaced confidence.  Artificial insemination, largely because of its widespread availability and unregulated commerce, is redefining marriage, paternity, and family right before our eyes.

Furthermore, Hymowitz observes that many European countries such as Switzerland, Britain, the Netherlands, France, Iceland, and Norway have placed significant restrictions on artificial insemination . . . but not the United States.

As she concludes:

It would be a good idea for Americans likewise to abolish anonymous sperm donation. But let's not kid ourselves that such a ban would also put an end either to fatherlessness or to male fecklessness, both nourished by our cultural predilection for individual choice unconstrained by tradition, the needs of children, or nature itself. To modify that preference, we'll need something much more radical than government regulation. 

Something more radical indeed.  In fact, nothing less than a reversal of current moral and social trends would be necessary.  If left unchecked, these trends will mean something radically new in the human experience  -- the complete disappearance of the father from the picture. Never there . . . not even missed...

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Those wondering what this new picture might look like should see "Our Sons Don't Need a Father!," an article published in the May 18, 2007 edition of Britain's Daily Mail.  In the article, a lesbian couple defies the notion that children -- even boys -- need a father:

"While there will always be some people critical of what we have done, we feel there is nothing any dad could give our sons that we can't give them," says Anna, who the twins refer to as 'Mummy'. Her partner is known as 'Mummy Jane'.

"We are not man-haters - we have many male friends. But we can kick a football like anyone else, and we will cheer our sons on from the touchline as well as any father."

But does this doubling of roles - parenthood, rather than 'motherhood' and 'fatherhood', really work? What sort of future lies ahead for these little boys, who are so far - some would say blissfully - unaware of the way in which they were brought into the world?

Jane and Anna claim friends and family are thrilled for them and that no one "bats an eyelid" about their unusual family set-up.

R. Albert Mohler, Jr. is president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. For more articles and resources by Dr. Mohler, and for information on The Albert Mohler Program, a daily national radio program broadcast on the Salem Radio Network, go to www.albertmohler.com. For information on The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, go to www.sbts.edu. Send feedback to mail@albertmohler.com.

See also the most recent entries on Dr. Mohler's Blog.