IVF & Its Victims by Marcia Segelstein

The Numbers and Statistics

The definition of IVF (in vitro fertilization) according to the Mayo Clinic:

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a complex series of procedures used to treat fertility or genetic problems and assist with the conception of a child. During IVF, mature eggs are collected (retrieved) from your ovaries and fertilized by sperm in a lab. Then the fertilized egg (embryo) or eggs are implanted in your uterus. One cycle of IVF takes about two weeks.

IVF is the most effective form of assisted reproductive technology. The procedure can be done using your own eggs and your partner's sperm. Or IVF may involve eggs, sperm or embryos from a known or anonymous donor. In some cases, a gestational carrier—a woman who has an embryo implanted in her uterus—might be used.

Your chances of having a healthy baby using IVF depend on many factors, such as your age and the cause of infertility. In addition, IVF can be time-consuming, expensive and invasive. If more than one embryo is implanted in your uterus, IVF can result in a pregnancy with more than one fetus (multiple pregnancy).

Cold Hard Facts from Just the U.K.

By some estimates, 24 embryos are destroyed or frozen for every one IVF baby born. Because Great Britain has an agency that oversees its fertility industry, statistics from the U.K. are easier to come by than in the U.S. In 2012, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which has been keeping records related to IVF since 1991, released the following data for the United Kingdom alone:

From 1991 through 2012:

• A total of 3,546,818 human embryos were created.

• Of those, only 235,480 "gestational sacs" (i.e., successful implants) were produced.

• 93 percent of all embryos created—more than 3.3 million—never generated a pregnancy.

• A total of 1,388,443 embryos were implanted in the hope of starting a pregnancy, but only about 1 in 6 were successful.

• 839,325 were put into storage for future use; 2,071 were stored for donation to others; and 5,876 were set aside for scientific research.

• Over 1.7 million embryos created in vitro have been discarded.

• 1,691,090 were discarded unused, and 23,480 were discarded after being removed from storage.

In the Beginning . . .

The first person born using IVF technology was Louise Brown, famously called the world's first "test-tube baby." In that case, an egg was removed from her mother's ovaries and mixed with her father's sperm in a petri dish. Two days later the fertilized egg was implanted. That was in 1978. Since then it's estimated that five million babies have been born worldwide using IVF. Its victims, however, are harder to number.

"Selective Reduction" & "Leftovers"

The use of IVF routinely results in the fertilization of multiple embryos. Couples often wind up with more fertilized eggs than can be implanted. Those "leftovers" are usually frozen. Embryos are more likely to implant successfully when transferred to the mother's womb in batches, which often results in three or four babies. These multiple pregnancies are often then "reduced" through abortion.

Morning-After Moral Dilemmas

According to the New York Times there may be one million embryos currently being kept in storage facilities in the U.S., with many of the "owners" unsure what to do with them. Some people donate their embryos to other couples, while others stop paying the storage fees (which can run between $300 and $1,200 a year) and leave it to the clinic workers to decide what to do. Still others choose a different route:

Some people, saying they were troubled to be destroying a potential child, have created their own disposal ceremony—or, in a procedure known as compassionate transfer, have had a doctor place the embryos in the womb of the woman who made them at a time of the month when she will not become pregnant. (Emphasis added)

Other Complicating Factors

Beyond the mind-boggling scope of all the "extra" human beings currently preserved in silver tanks of liquid nitrogen around the world, and the horror of the millions destroyed, there are other medical and ethical issues. Children conceived through IVF have higher rates of birth defects and low birth weight than children conceived naturally, and they are more likely to be born prematurely.

Egg and sperm donation, often part of the IVF process—especially for older women whose eggs are no longer viable and for homosexual couples—creates its own set of physical and psychological issues for the children involved.

The use of surrogates to carry IVF-conceived children is growing, and often leads to legal and ethical quandaries. •

IVF In the News

Sperm donor sues to force surrogate mother to abort one of her triplets

A Georgia man is suing a California woman he hired as a surrogate to force her to abort one of the triplets she's carrying, claiming he only paid for one child. The 47-year-old surrogate was paid $33,000 to bear the man a child conceived with his sperm and eggs donated by a 20-year-old woman, but she ended up carrying triplets. The planned fate of the "second" child is unclear. •

Pregnant with triplets, surrogate mother refuses abortion against parents' demand

Brittneyrose Torres was successfully implanted with two embryos belonging to a couple who hired her as a surrogate. One of the embryos split and became twins. Now carrying twin boys plus a girl, the couple is demanding that she abort the girl, citing the increased risk of developmental disabilities. •

California Judge Orders Frozen Embryos Destroyed

A judge in California ruled in November 2015 that a couple's five frozen embryos must be destroyed following their divorce. The couple had an agreement to do this, but the mother later balked. •

Court orders Sherri Shepherd to pay child support for surrogate son she abandoned

When Sherri Shepherd, former co-host of The View, got married, she and her husband discovered her eggs weren't viable. They found an egg donor and hired a surrogate to carry a baby conceived in vitro using her husband's sperm. Midway through the pregnancy, the marriage soured, and Shepherd decided she didn't want anything to do with the baby. Her now ex-husband successfully sued her for child support. •

California doctor allegedly implants wrong baby, then aborts to cover it up

A California couple is suing their fertility doctor for allegedly implanting a stranger's embryos in the woman, and then committing an abortion without consent when he realized his mistake. •

Marcia Segelstein

is the author of the newly-released book, Don’t Let the Culture Raise Your Kids, published by Our Sunday Visitor. She has been covering family issues for twenty-five years, as a producer for CBS News, a contributor to National Catholic Register, and a Senior Editor for Salvo magazine. She has written for FoxNews.com, First Things, WORLD magazine, and Touchstone.

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