| IN VITRO FERTILIZATION |
Frozen embryo adoptionsIn August 2002, the Bush administration decided to provide funds to raise public awareness about the availability of those frozen human embryos whose parents have decided that they do not wish to have more children, and do not wish to "donate" their children to science. This decision brings up an entirely new set of moral and ethical questions. Once the human embryo exists, he or she is a human being whose dignity is undeniable; he or she should be treated accordingly. A number of concerns are raised by this idea of "adopting" frozen human embryos. But in order to examine those concerns, it is necessary to first review certain basic facts about in vitro fertilization, the process through which these living human embryos came into being. FACTS ABOUT IN VITRO FERTILIZATION What is a human embryo? A human embryo is a human being whose life began at fertilization (conception) and whose nature is uniquely human; he is therefore a human person. Each and every human embryo is invaluable; he has innate dignity at the time his life begins. Can human embryos be "created" in a test tube? Yes, modern science is able to take human sperm and human ova (eggs) and combine them in a laboratory setting for the express purpose of "creating" human embryos. Is it moral for scientists to do this? No, it is not. As the Catholic Church teaches in Donum Vitae (Instruction on Respect for Human Life) the process of in vitro fertilization and similar technologies violate the Natural Law and hence the rights of the child. "Such fertilization is in itself illicit and in opposition to the dignity of procreation and of the conjugal union, even when everything is done to avoid the death of the human embryo." (#5) Does this mean the human embryo who results from IVF is really not a person? No, it does not. Again, Donum Vitae is instructive: "Although the manner in which human conception is achieved with IVF or ET cannot be approved, every child which comes into the world must in any case be accepted as a living gift of the divine Goodness and must be brought up with love." This means that when he is "created" in the laboratory, the embryonic child deserves to be respected and given every opportunity to thrive just as any other human child. Where did all the frozen human embryos come from? The in vitro fertilization process always results in the production of more human embryos than are needed for a specific in vitro fertilization cycle. The fate of these human embryos is determined by whether or not they are
IN REGARD TO THE PROGRAM ANNOUNCED IN AUGUST 2002, IS THE GOVERNMENT ACTING IN A HUMANE MANNER? No, for the government has stated in the Federal Register (the publication in which it announced the existence of this new program), "If a couple conceives without using all the stored embryos, they may choose to have the remaining unused embryos donated for adoption allowing other infertile couples the experience of pregnancy and birth." In other words, the government acknowledges that parents have a "choice" regarding whether they wish to destroy their children or allow others to adopt them. And yes, these human embryos are the children of their parents. ISN'T ADOPTION OF ANOTHER COUPLE'S HUMAN EMBRYO SORT OF LIKE BECOMING A SURROGATE MOTHER? No, not at all. First of all, as with adoption of a born child, a couple is seeking the opportunity to adopt human embryonic children who have been frozen in time and are no longer wanted by their parents. This is not the same as surrogate parenting. At this time there are only two options for the human embryo: to be provided with sanctuary that will provide the possibility of life versus certain death. On that question, Donum Vitae states, "By 'surrogate mother' the instruction means: a) The woman who carries in pregnancy an embryo implanted in her uterus and who is genetically a stranger to the embryo because it has been obtained through the union of the gametes of 'donors.' She carries the pregnancy with a pledge to surrender the baby once it is born to the party who commissioned or made the agreement for the pregnancy. b) The woman who carries in pregnancy an embryo to whose procreation she has contributed the donation of her own ovum, fertilized through insemination with the sperm of a man other than her husband. She carries the pregnancy with the pledge to surrender the child once it is born to the party who commissioned or made the agreement for the pregnancy." (#3) ISN'T IT POSSIBLE THAT THE FROZEN EMBRYOS TO BE ADOPTED COULD BE PUT THROUGH A QUALITY CONTROL TEST SO THAT IMPERFECT HUMAN EMBRYOS ARE DESTROYED? Yes, that is possible. And it is one of the many reasons why ultimately in vitro fertilization itself should be outlawed. It is as if the human embryos are products on an assembly line, and those that are judged to be imperfect are discarded. This robs that human person of her dignity and relegates her to mere material to be used or tossed away. If the U.S. government had been serious about their advocacy of adoption for these human embryonic children, the regulations would have stipulated that (a) not one of these children may be destroyed or used in research, and (b) no eugenic testing (preimplantation genetic diagnosis) would be allowed. Neither stipulation is made. GRAVE RISKS COULD BE AVOIDED Bishop Elio Sgreccia, a papal advisor on bioethical questions and vice president of the Pontifical Academy of Life, has said that at the very least, the overproduction of human embryos should be prohibited, for it is this practice that results in the possibility of freezing them in the first place. In the same statement (Zenit, 10/31/01), he also added that "adoption is an expression of love and respect for life and in this case it is important to emphasize that the frozen embryo has the value of a child. In spite of everything, I maintain that it is absolutely necessary that, at the moment when the procedure for the adoption of existing embryos is established, the conditions and essential information must also be given on the grave risks that the adoptive parents must face." In a subsequent interview published in the Catholic World Report, Bishop Sgreccia pointed out 90 percent or more of these human embryos, once thawed, will not survive nor will they be strong enough to implant themselves in the adoptive mother's womb. And he says, "Even if it does work, there are no guarantees that the child won't have serious handicaps. The risk of handicap increases the longer an embryo is frozen: one or two years or five years." Additionally, he says, "Can we really counsel women to do this? It would mean counseling heroism. Many attempts would fail. Also, you would have to do it at certain periods of the month when the uterus is ready. And if the baby is born handicapped, she must still take care of it, because it would be cruel to abort it. "The issue is one big question mark. The point is, we should never have gone down this road to begin with. It is full of problems." CONCLUSION We have said nothing of the actual freezing process itself which is an assault on human dignity, arresting the vital cycle of a human embryo, thus deciding the fate of another human being by a mere act of power. Professor Mauro Cozzoli writes of these human embryos, "His life is 'suspended,' it is 'there,' frozen and deposited, like a product of consumption, next to many others, available in case of need. His dignity is reduced to the value of something to be used, subject also to expiration, since the physical integrity and even the vitality of a frozen embryo cannot be guaranteed, in direct proportion to the time and modality of the freezing. Thus in addition to an excess of power, there is joined the violence by which these 'expired' and 'unserviceable' lives are disposed of." We have seen the adoptive families of babies who have survived the freezing, been thawed, and lived to enjoy family life. We praise God for those miracles. But we also must, in perfect honesty and without hesitation, admit that the abuse of human persons that occurs when such indignities begin at the very start of any in vitro fertilization cycle are such that the only humane response to this tragedy which continues to build on itself is to ban in vitro fertilization once and for all. Yes, there is great suffering caused by infertility in a marriage. But just as God has a plan for two people who are married but cannot bear children, so too God has a plan for every child. And as Donum Vitae makes clear, "A true and proper right to a child would be contrary to the child's dignity and nature. The child is not an object to which one has a right, nor can he be considered as an object of ownership: rather, a child is gift, 'the supreme gift' and the most gratuitous gift of marriage, and is a living testimony of the mutual giving of his parents. For this reason, the child has the right to be the fruit of the specific act of the conjugal love of his parents; and he also has the right to be respected as a person from the moment of his conception." We ask God to provide special graces to each couple facing the suffering associated with infertility. We ask Him to bless the researchers who continue, even now, to work on technologies that are in harmony with God's creative power while safeguarding the dignity of human procreation in accordance with the Natural Law. And we ask God to give each of us the ability to support in love and deed these couples during their time of trial, knowing that such couples may be called by God to adopt, to work among those in need, or to assist other families who are poor or who have disabled children themselves. American Life League does not condone the abusive treatment of any human person including the embryonic child. For this reason we oppose in vitro fertilization and we warn prospective adoptive parents of the risks and the suffering they may endure in their quest to adopt "excess" embryonic children. We call for a halt to the practice of "creating" spare human embryos. We call upon our national leaders and our research scientists to acknowledge God, the Author of life, end the practice of in vitro fertilization and related technologies, and strive to work and to live in accord with His plan by observing the precepts of justice which include the Natural Law. Only then will we begin to see the proper respect for human dignity restored to our land.
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©2002 American Life League, Inc.