I have to get right into this...jump in with both feet so to speak. There are people who insist that an embryo equals a baby. A boy or girl. A human being with rights. If this is really the case and that same embryo is transferred via IVF into a ready and waiting uterus and doesn't implant we would have to treat failed IVF as a miscarriage mentally and emotionally. If this is the case, then every month a woman who "might" be pregnant and has a period is also having a miscarriage EVERY SINGLE MONTH. (whether she wants to be pregnant or not) Please! I really feel that this is bordering on the ridiculous. Take it a step further.....women who are just praying that they are not pregnant this very month are really praying for the death of an unborn child. Really? I think NOT! And each month a woman who may have had unprotected sex, to become pregnant or not, is NOT having a miscarriage if she is having yet another normal period.
Left over embryos from either a successful IVF or from a couple who have simply run out of time or money, can give the human race and scientific community a wonderful gift through stem cell research. I truly respect the feelings of the "religious rights" however I sometimes have the feeling that they are a bit...hypocritical. These are the very same people who are submitting to bone marrow transplants, blood transfusions, kidney donation, and even heart transplants, all without batting an eye to the research and the testing it took to get to this point where humans could benefit from these medical breakthroughs. If some could come to terms with the question of what is an embryo then more people who are already born can be saved!
Sharon LaMothe
