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Petri Dish Babies, 25 Years Later

Posted by michael on from the GTCA dept.

bl8n8r writes ""You can't buy a baby in the United States," said Caplan. "... But you can buy the sperm, you can buy the egg and you can rent the uterus." So, what I want to know is if it's cheaper than my current apartment, and if utilities are included :D" See also a good story about IVF in the Mercury News.

11 of 286 comments (clear)

  1. Becoming more common every day by TopShelf · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The NY Times also ran an article recently about the topic, that included an interesting statistic: IVF babies now account for 1% of all births in the U.S. I was genuinely surprised that it was that large a portion.

    As the proud papa of IVF twins born last year, I've got to say it's an amazing process. Of course, as the male, that's easier to say. I didn't have to go through 100+ injections and get stuck with a foot-long needle to have eggs extracted, only to then get to go through pregnancy!

    --
    Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
  2. This is going to cause trouble... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think this is going to cause trouble later on. If two people can't get pregnant on their own, there's a reason for it. It's the gene pools way of saying you're not supposed to re-produce. (aka Darwinism)

    By overriding this mechanism in nature you create a child of inferior genetic make up who would no otherwise be by natural process. I think this is going to bite us in the ass in a few generations.

    While I'm sure it's nice for the parents (yay! we had a baby! look at the odds we've overcome!) I think it's unfair to create a child that may have genetic defects / other problems because of their parent's own selfishness.

    1. Re:This is going to cause trouble... by no+reason+to+be+here · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There are plenty of people out there who are perfectly genetically healthy human beings, who through no fault of there own, are unable to reproduce naturally. Some people are adversely affected by chemicals in the environment, making it difficult to conceive a child, others (like some women who have had abortions) are not able to either. There are still others who can't for any multitude of reasons that are not part of the equation of the traditional Darwinian notion of natural selection.

      Now then, maybe these people ought to just adopt, but I don't think they should be prevented from attempting to have their "own" offspring if they are willing to put up the time and money neccesary.

      --
      my pet machine
    2. Re:This is going to cause trouble... by TCaM · · Score: 3, Insightful

      To an extent the infertility rate is artificially high becuase of the number of women in the last 30 years that have chosen birth control pills and a career over having children at a young and healthy age. Many are later finding that they are unable to have children because they are too old. This kind of infertility is not due to bad genes, rather it is nature shutting off the reproductive cycle because at an advanced age there is likely to be either damage to the existing eggs in a womans body or a lack of proper health to carry a fetus to full term.

    3. Re:This is going to cause trouble... by USPKyle · · Score: 3, Insightful

      There are plenty of non-genetic causes of infertility. Endometriosis, and prior surgery can play roles in a womans ability to conceive. Neither are necessarily genetic, so your Darwinism theory holds maybe 30% water, leaving a lot of room for 'unexplained infertility'.

      Either way, eggs and sperm used for IUI/IVF undergo testing for genetic defects, so I could argue that babies concieved via either of these methods are more likely lower the rate of birth disorders. Plenty of preliminary tests are run to determine if the fertility problem is genetic. No right minded doctor would allow fertility treatment if a genetic disorder was a possibility.

      Is it selfish to want something that is inherent to all animals in existence? Try turning that primal urge off...

    4. Re:This is going to cause trouble... by spun · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Over the years, evolution has come up with many interesting adaptations for overcoming it's own limitations. In the beginning, there was no nucleus, DNA didn't coil up, and it didn't have a protective coating. All these things evolved to cope with genetic damage and miscopying.

      Now evolution has come up with an even more powerful adaptation for correcting it's own mistakes: human intelligence. Why throw it out?

      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    5. Re:This is going to cause trouble... by heli0 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "If two people can't get pregnant on their own, there's a reason for it."

      Like they had chemotherapy as children to treat cancer and are now sterile? You know Lance Armstrong became sterile after chemo for testicular cancer? Luckily he had sperm stored just in case and now has a son Luke because of IVF.

      --
      Whenever the offence inspires less horror than the punishment, the rigour of penal law is obliged to give way...
  3. IVT et al. by aliens · · Score: 3, Insightful

    They're all great, and I'm happy for those parents who couldn't have children otherwise.

    But, has the number of couples that can't have children gone up? It always worried me. Am I just being paranoid?

    Also these procedures are not cheap! That money could really change an orphan's life...

    --
    -- taking over the world, we are.
  4. Nature's course is not flamebait by nano-second · · Score: 4, Insightful
    What else is the point of evolution but to propagate the best, healthiest genes. I agree, it would really suck to want a child and not be able to have one.

    However, there are many positive ways to deal with that situation. Adopting within N.America is a long and difficult process, partly because we don't have orphanages full of adoptable children. China, Russia, and some S.American countries do. If you have the means to get invitro fertalization done, then you probably have the means to do international adoption.

    It may not be a popular point of view, but there is no rule out there that says everyone has to or should be able to have a baby if they want to, even though they can't naturally. I think it is unwise to go through all sorts of unnatural steps to have your own child, ignoring what Mother Nature decreed. This is just the point of view of an environmentalist, applied to humans. I think we need to be responsible in our environment.

    I have nothing against people who have been born due to fertility treatments of one sort or anther, but I would be interested in studies tracking those people and seeing if they had higher rates of cancer and other health problems than the general population. And is a child born to an infertile couple more likely to be infertile themselves?

    --
    I hope you're not pretending to be evil while secretly being good. That would be dishonest.
  5. mod me down now... by bigbigbison · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Call me crazy, but it seems a lot better to adopt a child than go to all of this trouble. In fact it seems downright selfish that one would rather spend tons of money rather than adopt a child that already exists. It seems so selfish that I might go so far as to argue that perhaps this desire that the child must be mine mine mine might go so far as to make people bad parents due to the fact that they are so slefish thinking of thier own needs and wants and are unable to love a child just becuse it doe snot have their DNA.
    Now before I'm modded as a troll. Tell me, why isn't it selfish? Why is the idea of adoption so repellant that one would rather go through such effort to create a child?

    --
    http://www.popularculturegaming.com -- my blog about the culture of videogame players
  6. Speaking as a female geek... by hawthorne · · Score: 3, Insightful

    who is currently approximately the size and shape of a very unfit hippo - with sprog #2 due anytime now - I have to say that you probably couldn't pay me enough to go through this for any reason other than the prospect of the kiddo at the end of it - and I have (so called) easy pregnancies.

    Then again, I'm in the lucky position that I can earn enough money via 'normal' channels that the prospect of a few (tens of?) thousands souldn't make me likely to do it - I appreciate that the surrogacy fee is probably a make or break figure for some.