It's estimated that there are more than 600,000 embryos frozen in storage in the U.S., but it's not clear how many of those are available for adoption.....In 2003, about 8,000 fresh and about 3,500 thawed embryos, all donated, were transferred to adoptive women. By 2010, about 9,300 fresh and about 6,100 thawed donated embryos were transferred. More transfers are resulting in live births, too. In 2003, 50 percent of fresh embryo transfers and 30 percent of thawed embryo transfers resulted in live births. By 2010, 55 percent of fresh and 34 percent of thawed embryo transfers resulted in live births.The article also states that:
During a decade-long stretch of federal funding to promote embryo adoption, evangelical organizations received most of the $21 million doled out.I have very mixed feelings about Embryo Adoption and I'd like to engage readers in a discussion of the pros and cons.
First, I am overwhelmingly appalled and disgusted that federal dollars were ever given to PROMOTE this practice! WHY in the God's name would our federal government care about this when there are more than 100,000 real live children in foster care - costing state and federal dollars to care for - who COULD be adopted? This funding - which thank goodness has stopped - was a clear case of religious influence on our government.
Of course, like ALL adoption, I despise the idea of anonymity that obliterates a child's God-given right to know his earthly creators or procreators as the case may be - his or her genetic heredity. The truth of the person's origins, genealogy, ancestry, blood lines, and medical history, etc. I find it vile, dangerous, and offensive that all that VITAL information can be flushed away permanently and a human being denied access to it.
Likewise, the idea that evangelicals see these unborn cells as miniature soldiers for Christ is appalling to me.
On the other hand, most who adopt want the baby as young as humanly possibly to make it easier for them to pretend they gave birth to it. In this case, the CAN actually give birth to an adopted child! So, part of me wants to say: Go ahead. Snatch up these little icicles because maybe, just maybe the more people who go after these yet unborn embryos, the less demand to adopt already living children. Thus, pressure there would be on mothers in crisis to relinquish and perhaps even less child trafficking for adoption worldwide.
What do you think? What other aspect have I failed to see? (I'm sure there are many different views on this topic.)
1 comment:
I'm in a serious emotional funk over the topic Embryo Adoption, as my husband and I allowed ourselves to be "handled" and "manipulated" by the adoption industry in placing our embryos for adoption. You're right, there are many different angles to consider. A child has been removed from their family of origin and placed with a couple who has no genetic ties to their child. Someone made money off of the adoption of our embryos (I think about $15,000) and we were left to live through four years of hell with the couple who adopted them. I started researching adoption issues when our relationship started heading south and was shocked to learn how complicated, selfish, and money hungry the adoption industry is. I wish we had better educated ourselves about the entire process. We went into it thinking we were helping another infertile couple - they went into it believing they were rescuing our embryos from their frozen orphanage. Yes, there are many angles to consider. There's a little boy out there, not just a mass of cells...whom we will probably never have contact with again. It kills me everyday. Sad stuff all the way around!
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