May 26, 2005
latimes.com : Opinion :
EDITORIAL
Stem Cell Hypocrisy ...
Photographs in Wednesday's papers of President Bush with cuddly little
babies, all of whom were produced from surplus fertilized eggs at
fertility clinics, represent a White House attempt to deal with the
biggest flaw in logic regarding its stem cell policy — and its moral
weak point. This is the fact that fertility clinics routinely create
many test-tube embryos for every human baby that is wanted or is
produced.
Here is what happens to those embryos: Some are destroyed because a
microscopic examination indicates that they are defective or abnormal.
Some of the rest are implanted. But generally, there are some left
over. These may be discarded, or frozen for future attempts, or frozen
indefinitely; it's up to the customers.
A small fraction of couples choose to donate their unneeded embryos to
other infertile couples. Several are implanted in each prospective
mother, sometimes producing multiple births. Sometimes they produce
one. Frequently, they produce none at all. And about 20% die before
they reach full term. The entire process therefore unavoidably involves
the creation and knowing destruction of many embryos.
This leads to two conclusions. First, Bush's policy is illogical; he
not only tolerates in vitro fertilization — the president celebrates it
(correctly) as bringing happiness to many. It is a "pro-family" policy
that unavoidably involves creating and destroying embryos.
Second, encouraging the donation of frozen embryos to prospective
parents, even under the most optimistic scenario, would put only a
small dent in the supply. According to a 2003 study, there are almost
half a million frozen human embryos in storage in the United States.
The vast majority of them — 87% — were frozen in case the parents might
need them, but the vast majority of that vast majority will never be
needed or used. An embryo-adoption drive wouldn't save the embryos that
die in other stages of the process. And ironically, the recipients of
donated fertilized eggs also generally have several implanted in the
hope that one will survive. In effect, donation results in the deaths
of embryos that would otherwise stay frozen.
A bill approved by a wide (but not veto-proof) margin in the House on
Tuesday would loosen restrictions on federal funding for stem cell
research. The president is threatening to veto this bill. If he does,
these embryos will either be destroyed or frozen forever. They will not
develop into cuddly babies. Therefore a veto wouldn't actually save a
single embryo. His threat is purely symbolic.
If you really believe that embryos are full human beings, this doesn't
matter. But if you think the issue is uncertain or ambiguous at all,
it's a powerful argument to say: It's not a choice between a human life
and an embryo's life. It's a choice between real human lives and a
symbolic statement about the value of an embryo. And it's a statement
belied by the reality of in vitro fertilization and how it works.
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