Embryo Adoption: The Future is Now

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This article will touch only briefly on assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) for purposes of clarification. For more information on infertility, treatments, and new developments, please visit InfertilityCentral.com or any of the informative links below.

The Mechanics | The Questions | The Issues

News reports flourished beginning in 2002, indicating that the federal government is moving ahead with support and funding for embryo adoption awareness programs.

Embryo adoption refers to the legal adoption of one or more non-genetically related embryo(s) by persons seeking to achieve pregnancy. The adopted embryo(s) is(are) implanted in the uterus of the adopting mother who wants and is able to experience childbirth.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) has been part of our vocabulary for 20 years, ever since the birth of the first "test tube baby" in 1978. Specifically, IVF is a

[p]rocedure that involves removing eggs from the ovaries and fertilizing them outside of the woman's body.

The Mechanics

Existing embryos
During IVF treatments, couples may produce many embryos in their attempt to conceive. These embryos are cryopreserved (placed in cold storage) for use as needed. If the couple conceives without using all the stored embryos, they may choose to have the remaining embryos destroyed, to donate them for research or implantation, or to make them available for adoption.

Made-to-order embryos
Embryos can alternatively be created using the sperm and eggs of selected donors. Donors may be selected on the basis of adopting parents' criteria.

Medical requirements
Adopting mothers must be physically able to carry a child to term.

Making it legal
As the law stands now, many state laws determine that a woman who gives birth to a child is his/her parent, and few states have any statutes covering embryo adoption. All reputable specialists in this field recommend that contractual documents be drawn up between the genetic and adopting parents that clearly define the agreement.

Some programs, like the Snowflakes embryo adoption program, utilize the same type of agreement used in traditional adoptions. Adopting parents must have a completed homestudy, and genetic parents relinquish "parental rights" before the embryos are transferred. However, there are many unregulated programs and no consistent policies A "National Embryo Adoption Center" was launched in 2003 at the Baptist Hospital for Women in Knoxville, TN.

The Questions

Why would genetic parents choose embryo adoption?
Making the embryos available for adoption allows the genetic parents to participate in the selection of adopting parents and in the life of the child or children born as a result, much in the manner of traditional open adoption.

Why would adopting parents choose embryo adoption?
While the reasons are as diverse as we are, some of the reasons cited in published works include:

the desire to experience childbirth and control what the fetus is exposed to during pregnancy
possible solution for older persons who may not qualify for the age limits set on traditional adoption
fees and costs are generally lower than traditional adoption
the ability to choose genetic parents' characteristics

The Issues

If serious questions haven't already been raised in your mind about the many issues inherent in embryo adoption, here's a brief mention of some of the more noteworthy.

Made-to-order embryos
This option allows adopting parents to select criteria for sperm and egg donors, respectively. Want blue eyes? A history of musical talent? Italian heritage? This kind of mix-and-match do-it-yourself kit raises enormous questions about whose interests are being served. Will the interests of the child be dumped to the bottom of the list in favor of someone's idea of a "perfect creation?"

Anonymous embryo adoption
Programs like the the one at the University of Iowa Health Center maintain the anonymity of embryo donors. Adopting parents will have only current medical information about the genetic parents. It would seem, to this writer, that this program is an updated version of the closed adoption system and can hardly be described as being in the best interest of those conceived and adopted in this manner.

Legal issues
Embryo adoption is new, and as mentioned above, very few states take any legal position whatsoever. If the practice of embryo adoption is legislated in the future, states laws could be enacted that may or may not be in conflict with agreements made today between genetic and adopting parents.

Religious issues
They exist. For example, the Catholic Church disapproves of any form of artificial conception, but has opened serious debate on this issue.

Ethical issues
This is where the issues really abound! Once upon a time, the hot topic (and it still is in some areas) was about sex without babies (contraception). Now attention has turned to babies without sex. From the "right to life" of an embryo, to ethical standards of practice, to the possible future genetic engineering of "adoptable" embryos, professionals from every sector - along with us everyday folks - have something to say.

The Final Frontier

In the world of adoption, embryo adoption is currently our new frontier, brought about by new and newer technologies. But is it the final frontier? Changing family structures, new attitudes and ideas about "love and marriage," and a population seeking to become parents later in life are also spurring us onward to new ways of thinking about old ideas.

The question each of us will have to answer for herself or himself is, "just because I can do it, should I do it?" And since the topic is adoption, and adoption is about children, will our answers reflect the best interests of our present and future children?

Additional Resources

More Information About Embryo Adoption

A Cold War on Embryo Adoptions - 2002 news article from the Los Angeles Times
Adoption as an option to embryo disposal - a 1996 report from CNN
"Choosing Embryo Adoption" - excerpt from the book Choosing Assisted Reproduction: Social Emotional and Ethical Considerations by Susan Lewis Cooper and Ellen Sarasohn Glazer
Miracle Babies - The Cincinnati Post

Program Web sites

Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program (a division of Nightlight Christian Adoptions)
University of Iowa Health Center

Ethics

Shopping at the Genetic Supermarket - Professor Peter Singer (Bioethics, Princeton) offers his opinion of issues and non-issues.
"Making Babies" - Frontline - an excellent presentation of the technologies, ethics, and arguments from leading bioethicists, from PBS
Medical Ethics - another excerpt from Choosing Assisted Reproduction: Social Emotional and Ethical Considerations by Susan Lewis Cooper and Ellen Sarasohn Glazer

Other positions