As a follow-up to my series of posts on Why Life Begins At
Conception, here is something to think about from the edges of reproductive
science: embryo adoption.
In-vitro fertilization is the procedure of fertilization of
human eggs outside of the mother’s body and their subsequent implantation in
the uterus.. This procedure is
used when, for various reasons, it is highly unlikely, dangerous, or impossible
for fertilization to occur in the natural way. The procedure can be used for non-spousal donor
fertilization, for fertilization after the death of the husband, or for
implantation into surrogate mothers.
Some lesbians use this method to become pregnant.
It is common for 10 to 30 eggs to be chosen for
fertilization. The healthiest eggs
are incubated for about 18 hours in a concentrated solution of sperm. Any eggs which become fertilized are
graded on several factors to choose those which will optimize the expected
pregnancy rate. With women under
30 the pregnancy rate approaches 50%.
The rate drops off sharply as the mother’s age approaches or exceeds 40.
Two to three of the optimal eggs will be implanted into the
mother’s uterus. The fate of
the other fertilized embryos then becomes a controversial question. Many agree with former US president
George W. Bush that “These boys and girls are not spare parts.”
What currently happens:
1.
Many of the fertilized embryos are discarded or
are donated to research laboratories.
2.
Some embryos are donated to other couples who
are otherwise unable to conceive.
3.
Some of the embryos are intentionally implanted
when conception is unlikely, letting “nature take its course.”
4.
Some couples pay to maintain their unused
embryos in a frozen state. There are currently about 400,000 to 600,000 frozen
embryos in the United States.
A growing movement among evangelicals is embryo adoption. In 2003, there were
about 11,500 embryo adoptions in the United States. By 2010, the number had risen to about 15,000.
“The earliest Christians were distinguished by their care
for those society discarded. Embryo
adoption seems to me a seminal way to do such a thinhg here in the third millennium.” Gabriel Fluhrer.
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