UK Stats Reveal Dozens of IVF Unborn Children Die Annually Via Abortions
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 7, 2010
London, England (LifeNews.com) — In-vitro fertilization is sold as a foolproof technology designed to help parents who can’t and have children and want them to have them. But new figures from the UK provide evidence of what is likely a global phenomenon — many unborn children created via IVF ultimately die in abortions.
That has pro-life groups condemning what they call the commoditization of human life.
Statistics from the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) released under the Freedom of Information Act show as many as one percent of all IVF pregnancies end in abortion.
Although the process is costly and complex, some women do not carry the pregnancy to term because of relationship problems, money or other issues.
“IVF is not a procedure to be undertaken lightly and we know what it means personally to the many women who make this decision every year. The HFEA does not regulate terminations of pregnancies," officials from HFEA told WebMD. "All patients who undergo IVF are assessed, as are the implications for any child that might be born, in advance of the decision to treat.”
Another reason for the abortions is the process commonly called reduction — the intentional killing of one or more unborn children because more than one embryo was implanted and more than one unborn child made it further in the pregnancy.
Of the 65 IVF pregnancies in 2008 that ended in abortion, HFEA says 13 unborn children lost their lives merely due to reduction.
LIFE, the UK’s pro-life care and education charity, told LifeNews.com that news of women aborting babies conceived via IVF is "further evidence of the trivialization of human life caused by IVF."
"If you create a society where children are created and treated as a commodity, it is little wonder that this is going on. The needs of the child should come first and all too often the adults who are supposed to care for them put their needs first," the group said.
"Not only are couples changing their minds about becoming parents too late, resulting in abortions, but many also agree to more than one embryo being implanted resulting in multiple pregnancies. Many of the children in multiple pregnancies are randomly aborted to increase the chances of their siblings’ survival," the group said.
"IVF treatment can put relationships under terrible pressure and it’s little wonder that many couples don’t make it and change their minds," it concluded.
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