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If his story were a movie, then Gus' tale would start before he was born in December 2009. It would begin in a fertility clinic, where actor Jason Patric donated sperm so that his ex-girlfriend Danielle Schreiber could have a baby. Later, his parents would reunite and then split up and then, after a contentious custody battle, find the love they always knew was there, wed and live happily ever after. But this story begins in Hollywood, so there is no marriage; there are many breakups, separate residences and legions of lawyers -- and there is a cause that other...

This is a very disturbing website. A man recently learned that he is not the father of his daughter. He and his wife are shocked because it turns out that the biological father was a man who worked at the IVF clinic. They found out quite by accident as shown in this video. Family Discovers Insemination Switch after Tracing Genealogy The clinic worker is dead and the clinic is gone. The university associated with it is refusing to warn people about the possibility that this nutjob Lippert may have done this many times because "the burdens of this information are...

It’s happening in Cincinnati: Teachers in Cincinnati Archdiocese schools could lose their jobs if they violate a new employment contract that clamps down on their personal lives beyond school walls.The new contract obtained by The Enquirer has doubled in size and is strikingly different from previous Archdiocese teacher employment agreements.For the first time, it details prohibited practices such as gay “lifestyles,” out-of-wedlock relationships, abortions and fertility methods that go against Catholic teachings.The contract for the 2014-15 school year explicitly orders teachers to refrain “from any conduct or lifestyle which would reflect discredit on or cause scandal to the school or...

The bioethics movement grows ever more radical. In the reproductive field, many activists promote a near-absolute right to have a baby, the kind of baby we want, via any means we desire.  The UK’s John Harris is a major voice in utilitarian bioethics discourse, who believes that killing so-called human non persons is A-OK. He has now written in favor of creating children using a process known as IVG–in vitro gametes–using stem cells to create eggs and sperm, and then fertilizing via IVF. Harris extols the possibilities. For example, a single person could “self breed,” making a baby with only their own cells. Another use would be by same sex...

The controversy over three-parent embryos could soon be old hat. Writing in one of the world’s leading journals, one of Britain’s best-known bioethicists has outlined a strategy for creating children with four or more genetic parents. He calls it “multiplex parenting”.John Harris, of the University of Manchester, and two colleagues, César Palacios-González and Giuseppe Testa contend in the Journal of Medical Ethics (free online) that this is one of many exciting consequences of using stem cells to create synthetic eggs and sperm. (Or as they prefer to call them, in vitro generated gametes (IVG).)After the discovery of induced pluripotent stem...

An experimental technique for creating embryos with three biological parents appears to be moving toward an okay from the FDA. Ostensibly to prevent mitochondrial disease, the experiment would use one genetically modified egg (with the nucleus from another egg), and sperm to create a new human life via IVF.Now, an FDA committee is holding hearings (on Feb 25-26) to determine whether to allow the technique to be used to bring babies to birth. From the Science story: In the United States, FDA has said it has the power to regulate any transfer of mitochondrial DNA in embryos, because it is...

There is so much wrong with the following story that like other great art that imitates life, I think I’ll let the story mostly speak for itself…and many of the ills of society in general. So, stop me if you heard this one…. Two lesbians put up an ad on Craigslist looking for a sperm donor. This is not in dispute. They put up an ad on Craigslist looking for sperm, like sperm are a couch or a T.V. or those old worthless beanie babies your haggard aunt collected. In response to the ad, one William Marotta, who apparently...

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The University of Utah is investigating a complaint that a convicted felon working at a fertility clinic replaced a customer's sperm with his own, fathering a girl 21 years ago. The mother of the girl, Pamela Branum, says she and her husband discovered a genetic mismatch in their daughter, and were able to trace her lineage with help from relatives of the now-deceased fertility clinic worker, Thomas Ray Lippert. "I don't think we're the only ones," Branum told CBS affiliate KUTV in Salt Lake City. "We think we're one of many" victims who used a...

Following the devaluation of babies in the developed world in the 1970s and 80s, babies became scarce and, consequently, desirable once again. Now, any means used to make babies is seen as good, as long as pregnancy occurs at a convenient time.Some cannot conceive naturally. The prevailing view is that those who cannot do so should have free access to such reproductive technologies as in vitro fertilization (IVF) or the purchase of gametes, i.e., sperm and eggs. Yet, many do not know what occurs in IVF labs and others do not care, as long as offspring result. The zeitgeist...

In Vitro Children and the Risks They Face  Interview With Neonatologist Carlo Bellieni  ROME, JUNE 6, 2004 (Zenit.org).- In vitro fertilization, a practice that entails high risks for the health of a child, reflects a trivialization of conception, warns a neonatologist. In this interview with ZENIT, Dr. Carlo Bellieni, professor of neonatal therapy at the School of Pediatrics of the University of Siena, talks about the dangers of artificial procreation for the child conceived, as revealed in recent scientific studies. Accompanying his statements are key references to medical research. Q: What are some factors in the in vitro fertilization...

Cry for Help from Young Woman Conceived with IVF I hate to start the new year with a sad post, but if we can help this young woman, it will be worth it. Her e-mail broke my heart. It is a cry for help from someone who mourns the loss of her siblings that didn't make it. It is also a look at the darker-side of IVF that no one wants to talk about: the massive loss of life inherent in the IVF process. She writes: I was wondering if you knew of any websites or resources that support people...

While some European ethicists and politicians have called for an end to the creation of “three-parent” IVF embryos, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced it is considering allowing the practice - without having held a public consultation. Researchers say that the technique “modifies standard IVF technology” to create an embryo from the eggs of two women and sperm from one man. The FDA’s most recent draft guidance on the issue included no mention of the ethical concerns over the nature of the procedure itself, but only offers suggestions for developing early stage clinical trials. “This guidance is intended...

Children born as a result of IVF are a third more likely to get cancer, a major study found. Scientists said those born after fertility treatments were 33 per cent more likely to have childhood cancer. They were 65 per cent more likely to develop leukaemia and 88 per cent more likely to develop cancers of the brain and central nervous system. The study suggests fertility treatment may change the way certain genes function when they are passed from parent to child in a process known as ‘genomic imprinting’. These faults in genes are linked to childhood cancers, the Danish...

A British woman credits in vitro fertilization (IVF) -- aided by daily breakfasts of sausage McMuffins to help carry her triplets to full term -- after failing for 10 years to get pregnant the old-fashioned way. Vegetarian Laura Dixon, 34, and husband Tim, 34, of Essex, tried three times with IVF to have a family, but was unsuccessful twice; the first attempt was abandoned and the second try ending in a heartbreaking miscarriage after eight weeks, SWNS.com reports. Laura was in her third round of IVF when she conceived and decided to boost her odds of carrying to full term...

August 18, 2013 ( PJ Saunders) - The Daily Telegraph this weekend reports on a new expert study which has raised fears that some clinics may be offering techniques that put the embryo at risk for their own profit.   The review, carried out by Dr Justin McCracken, the former head of the Health Protection Agency, highlighted a new technique, known as Pre-Implantation Genetic Screening (PGS), as one which is possibly being offered inappropriately for commercial reasons.   For a fee, which can run into thousands of pounds, clinics can check embryos created by a successful IVF cycle for...

Only 13% of Catholics--and 12% of Americans--believe that in vitro fertilization is morally wrong, according to a new Pew Research survey. 33% of Americans judge the procedure morally acceptable, while 46% say that it is not a moral issue. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith discussed the immorality of in vitro fertilization in its instructions Donum Vitae (1987) and Dignitas Personae (2008). The survey also found that 49% of Americans believe that abortion is morally wrong, while 15% say it is morally acceptable and 23% say it is not a moral issue. 64% of Hispanic Catholics and 53%...

-snip- Scheidts and Levy had 13 embryos from which to choose. The testing, Levy said, revealed only three of the 13 had the correct chromosomal numbers, and one of those was implanted in Scheidts. Nine months later, a healthy baby boy. “I was overjoyed and a little emotional because we had been trying so long,” Levy said. The test itself is relatively simple: Doctors take a bit of tissue from the embryo, usually five days after fertilization when it is about 100 cells. They remove five cells and test them, making sure that the right number of chromosomes are present....

Catholic teaching on surrogacy is receiving reinforcement from current research. Mothers have long believed, cultures have long taught, and research has repeatedly confirmed that an emotional network links pregnant moms to their babies. If mom is happy, the preborn baby is content. When mom is anxious, the prenate shows signs of stress. What’s more, post-birth, this bio-emotional nexus—the gestational link—continues to yoke mothers to their offspring throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. It’s important, then, to investigate what happens when an enterprise like surrogacy sunders the gestational link. For the first time, a 2013 study suggests surrogate children experience greater adjustment...

July 19, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Swedish study has found that children conceived with a certain type of in vitro fertilization (IVF) have a 51 percent increased risk of intellectual impairment – defined as an IQ score below 70. They also linked the procedure to a small increased risk for autism in cases of twins and triplets. Scientists studied data from 2.5 million births, and found the heightened risk in cases of babies conceived by a process in which the sperm is injected directly into the mother’s egg, known as Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). ICSI is used typically to...

Certain forms of IVF treatment are significantly associated with an increased risk of low intelligence in children, a major study has shown. A link was also found with an especially severe type of autism, but only in the case of twins or triplets. Scientists who analyzed data on more than 2.5 million births stressed that the chances of an IVF baby being affected remained tiny in real terms. …