AAF: Promote IVF Practices That Respect Life

For more information, please contact AAF Policy Director John Shelton at jshelton@advancingamericanfreedom.com

AAF: Promote IVF Practices That Respect Life

TOPLINE: Life begins at conception. The law must recognize that millions of Americans are alive today due to IVF, and that embryos created via IVF should be afforded legal protection. BACKGROUND: In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a reproductive technology in which sperm and egg are joined outside of the body to create an embryo, which is then implanted in the mother’s womb.

• The first successful human use of IVF was in 1978. • Today, IVF accounts for about two percent of all live births in the United States. IVF’s Moral Conundrum: IVF can easily become morally fraught. • It often results in the creation of frozen human beings, and those that are not implanted remain frozen for an indefinite period (there are currently about one million in existence domestically). • Often, a doctor will create a dozen or more embryos and, if multiple implant, perform a “reduction” in which successfully implanted embryos are aborted to reach the desired number. • It can also be used to pursue a specific genetic result, e.g. a boy rather than a girl, or “screening” for abnormalities, resulting in the destruction or indefinite freezing of the unwanted child. IVF must be pursued responsibly: The United States is largely out of line with the rest of the world.

• American law permits an unlimited number of embryos to be created. • However, Europe practices IVF more responsibly.

o For example: Germany only allows three embryos to be created at a time, while France

and Sweden only allow two. • Unused frozen embryos should be protected and offered up for embryonic adoption. • Embryonic stem cell research has not resulted in a single therapy; adult stem cell research has.

o Dig Deeper: 2001 Congressional hearing featuring snowflake babies. Alabama did not ban IVF: • Earlier this year, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that a clinic that did not provide adequate protection for embryos, resulting in the death of several embryonic children, was civilly liable for the wrongful death of the children. • The case recognized that embryos are unborn human beings and deserve to be handled with care. • Read: Dr. Ryan Anderson: The Truth About Alabama’s Ruling on IVF BOTTOM LINE: Life begins at conception, and our laws should reflect this.

• Republicans should never shy away from defending life.

o Watch: V.P. Pence addresses IVF on Face The Nation (March 17, 2024) • IVF has allowed millions of Americans to be born. • Unfortunately, the failure of some IVF clinics to treat human embryos with dignity has resulted in heartbreak for families, as embryos are carelessly stored and destroyed. • These unborn children and their families deserve better safeguards. Additional Reading: • Emma Waters: Babies Aren’t Disposable, At Any Stage & How Christians Should Assess Reproductive Technology • Dr. Robert George: The Sanctity of Life, Even in a Test Tube

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