← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Gabrielle
Thread ID: 16670 | Posts: 5 | Started: 2005-02-09
2005-02-09 03:15 | User Profile
Chilling effect possible on IVF, abortion, stem cell research
All Alison Miller and Todd Parrish wanted was to become parents. But when a fertility clinic didnââ¬â¢t preserve a healthy embryo they had hoped would one day become their child, they sued for wrongful death.
advertisement A judge refused to dismiss their case, ruling in effect that a test-tube embryo is a human being and that the suit can go forward.
Though most legal experts believe the ruling will be overturned, some in the fertility business worry it could have a chilling effect, threatening everything from in vitro fertilization to abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research.
An end to IVF? ââ¬ÅIf the decision stands, it could essentially end in vitro fertilization,ââ¬Â said Dr. Robert Schenken, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Few doctors would risk offering the procedure if any accident that harmed the embryo could result in a wrongful death lawsuit, said Schenken, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Texas in San Antonio.
He said the society, a professional group for fertility doctors, is considering filing a court brief opposing Fridayââ¬â¢s ruling by Cook County Judge Jeffrey Lawrence.
[url]http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6935477/[/url]
2005-02-09 21:30 | User Profile
:disgust: Great to hear them openly speak on the policy reasons behind who is a human being and who must not be.
2005-02-09 22:19 | User Profile
This judge made the right and honorable decision, but a ruling with these type of implications will, without a doubt, be overturned.
2005-02-10 20:56 | User Profile
Abortion is 100% safe, even if this ruling is not overturned.
2005-02-10 22:51 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Happy Hacker]Abortion is 100% safe, even if this ruling is not overturned.[/QUOTE] I do believe you are correct in a legal sense. But this is a type of case that could get people talking and thinking about certain aspects of the abortion issue, when life begins,etc.