White Couple Gives Birth To Black Triplets After Going Through Embryo Adoption

Mar 04, 2022 by apost team

Unfortunately, the world we live in is still led by fear and prejudice by many people in positions of power. There is more division and hatred than love. This fact makes it all the more special when we see examples of people who celebrate the differences that exist among us instead of allowing these differences to become a cause for division.

Aaron Halbert and his wife Rachel Halbert are two people who view this diversity as more than just differences among people but instead feel a divine purpose. The Halberts are a white couple who are led by their religious faith. The couple's family includes an African-American son that was adopted, a biracial daughter and the addition of triplet girls in 2016 who are also African-American.

Aaron works as a missionary stationed in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and he told the story of how his family came to be to the Washington Post in 2016 after he received comments about how unconventional his family is. Thanks to the opinion piece, Rachel and Aaron received loads of attention for their efforts. More than 1300 people had commented on the story and expressed their thoughts about what the family chose to do.

In the piece, Aaron explained that he understood the puzzlement many may have felt when they heard about how his wife, a white evangelical like himself, was about to give birth to three African-American triplets. Aaron further expressed his understanding that the same people would be equally puzzled by the 3-year-old African American brother and 2-year-old biracial sister waiting for them at home. 

Aaron informed his audience that the situation seems completely normal to him as a supporter of pro-life issues. He said his wife obviously shares his views on the matter:

“I grew up as a child of evangelical missionaries in Honduras, very aware of racial diversity because I was the blue-eyed, cotton-topped white kid who stuck out like a sore thumb, but all the while felt deeply connected to the people there, even though we looked very different. My wife, on the other hand, grew up in the delta of Mississippi and it wasn’t until she took a few trips to Haiti that the veil of racial prejudice was lifted from her eyes."

The proud father also added that it is his belief that accepting diversity makes the world stronger as it is an expression of God's creative genius. In the piece, Aaron explained that he and his wife were both interested in adoption while they also tried to conceive naturally. "When we began the adoption process we knew race could play a major role in our family dynamics, which led us to ponder deeply what a racially diverse family would look like," Aaron said. He added:

"We believe when you look into any human's eyes, you look into the face of an image-bearer of God – into the eyes of a person whose soul is eternal. While that is the common thread of all humanity, it doesn't mean our racial differences are insignificant. We see the human family's varying physical characteristics as awesome reminders of God's creative brilliance. It's not that we think race doesn't exist, or that we don't see it. In fact, it's the opposite – we see it, and we embrace it." 

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The process that the Halberts went through is called embryo donation or embryo adoption. The National Embryo Donation Center explains that with the rise in popularity of in vitro fertilization (IVF), there is also "a surplus of frozen human embryos." They estimate that number to be about 1,000,000 in the US. Once biological parents undergoing IVF have completed their families, they have to "decide what to do with their remaining embryos," and one increasingly popular option is donating them to other couples.

The Halberts adopted embryos through the National Embryo Donation Center and after two were implanted, one of them split into twins, which is how the family ended up having triplets. In his opinion piece, Aaron wrote about how supportive everyone around the couple had been with their decision. He said:

"It’s been heartening to see virtually all of our friends and family express overwhelming support for our family and the unusual ways we’ve built it. In our minds, we are just living out our dream. A dream that may not look like the average family, but one that we are thankful could come true in light of our country’s history."

He also spoke about the "sheer delight" he had as he witnessed his two older children kiss their mother's belly while she was pregnant and then finally the joy as they got to meet their baby sisters. He added:

"This is not the way we planned it 12 years ago when we were dating and talking about adoption, but oh, how thankful we are for God blessing us with these sweet little ones He has placed in our care."  

What do you think about the family Aaron Halbert and his wife have made for themselves? What do you think about his views on diversity? Tell us your thoughts, and be sure to ask others what they think as well.