Embryo Adoption

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.