Posted on 07/10/2005 8:50:04 PM PDT by Coleus
An Illinois judge declares that an early embryo is a human being, allowing a couple to sue a clinic for destroying a fertilized egg. A U.S. senator suggests that couples seeking fertility treatment should not be allowed to produce more embryos than they wish to implant simultaneously.
Anti-abortion activists picket a fertility clinic in Virginia, proclaiming, "IVF kills babies."
These and other developments have some reproductive health experts wondering if opposition to embryonic stem cell research may broaden to include in-vitro fertilization, a mainstream medical procedure used by millions of people. Abortion opponents contacted by the Tribune said they were not aware of any lobbying to ban or restrict in-vitro fertilization--IVF--but they'd happily support such legislation.
"IVF requires killing," said Bill Beckman, executive director of the Illinois Right to Life Committee. "They choose which [embryos] to implant, and they create spares that will die."
The cells used in embryonic stem cell research come from IVF embryos, which critics believe deserve the same ethical treatment as living children. The debate has raised awareness that this procedure typically creates more embryos than are used to make babies. Many experts believe IVF is far too commonplace to be drastically restricted. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine estimates that one of every 100 children born in the U.S. is conceived this way.
Beckman agreed that trying to limit IVF would be difficult, adding that abortion and euthanasia are higher priorities. "There are too many battles to fight, and IVF is not at the top of the priority list," he said.
"It doesn't have the same priority for us as stem cell research," said Carrie Gordon Earll of Focus on the Family. "There are only so many man-hours to go around." Yet recent events are provoking anxiety in the field of assisted reproduction.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Croatia's Catholic Bishops Warn In Vitro Fertilization is a Serious Crime
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith DONUM VITAE
Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation
Replies to Certain Questions of the Day, February 22, 1987
Actress Brooke Shields aborted How Many of her own Children by undergoing 7 IVF Treatments
Brain-damaged IVF stroke victim wins negligence case
President Discusses Embryo Adoption and Ethical Stem Cell Research (Remarks on Bioethics)
later pingout.
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