tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68289958375917545402024-02-18T18:57:27.645-08:00Pre-Born BabiesFrozen embryos are called "Snowflakes" because they are all frozen & unique. There are over 500,000 of these frozen children in the United States, waiting to be adopted and born into loving families. The need is great - the time is now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-33851479588113342022014-04-09T05:51:00.001-07:002014-04-09T05:51:08.273-07:00New Embryo Adoption FacilitatorsIn 2014, two new Embryo Adoption facilitators entered the market, making a profound impact on the way that Embryo Adoption is done.<br />
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<a href="http://www.compassadoption.com/" target="_blank">Compass Adoption, Inc.</a> has launched an Embryo Adoption program that is focused towards providing affordable Embryo Adoption Facilitation. Providing their services below cost, this non-profit agency subsidizes their costs with private fundraising efforts in order to provide exceptional services at an affordable rate. Anastasia Taylor, VP of Family Services explained,"We are very excited to assist families in growing through embryo adoption, while providing a pro-life solution for families with frozen embryos."<br />
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<a href="http://www.nrfa.org/" target="_blank">The National Registry for Adoption</a> has a similar goal in mind with their tagline, "Adoption Simplified." Founder Charis Boone Johnson stated, "We're simplifying the matching process so that you spend less time waiting and more time connecting with embryo donors or waiting families." Their website, <a href="http://www.nrfa.org/">www.NRFA.org</a>, provides a forum for families to connect and match by posting profiles with their descriptive information.<br />
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For more information, please visit <a href="http://www.compassadoption.org/">www.CompassAdoption.org</a> and <a href="http://www.nrfa.org/">www.NRFA.org</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-85783849560696682482014-03-26T16:49:00.000-07:002014-03-26T16:49:07.897-07:00Is Embryo Adoption Immoral?By Russell D. Moore<br />
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I received an email from a man who was upset about a couple in his extended family who are pursuing a so-called “snowflake adoption,” the adoption of a “frozen embryo” (to use, for clarity’s purpose only, the satanically clinical lingo of the current era). This couple had been led to do this after reading Adopted for Life, so he wanted to correspond.<br />
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How, he wondered, could I support this kind of adoption when I am opposed (and I am, strongly) to in vitro fertilization (IVF), donor assisted reproduction, and other technologies that violate the one-flesh union and the relationship between love and procreation. The same thing, he argued, is going on here with a donor embryo being implanted in an adopting mother’s womb.<br />
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First of all, there is no such thing as a “donor embryo.”<br />
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Someone can donate sperm or ovum or even a heart or a liver, but no one can “donate” an “embryo.” No one can “own” an “embryo.” An “embryo” isn’t a thing; he or she is a “who.” Our Lord Jesus is the pinnacle of the image of God (Heb. 1:1-3). He was an “embryo” (Luke 1:42-43). The “embryonic” John responded to our Lord’s “embryonic” presence in precisely the same way he responded to his adult presence on the banks of the Jordan River.<br />
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These so-called “snowflakes” are brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus are stored in cryogenic containers in fertility clinics as the “extras” of IVF projects. They already exist, and they already exist as persons created in the image of God.<br />
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And there are Christians called to adopt them, to bring them to birth through pregnancy, and to raise them in love. To be sure, the numbers of children who can be adopted in this way are a microscopic percentage of the whole. And the numbers even of those who can be safely brought to birth is even smaller.<br />
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Isn’t this simply an embrace of the kind of “Brave New World” Frankenstein technology we elsewhere lament?<br />
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No.<br />
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Adopting parents are not complicit in the “production” (I shudder to type such a horrible word in reference to a human creature) of these children. Again, the children are already conceived. The adopting parents are no more endorsing the technologies involved than parents adopting from an unwed mother are endorsing fornication or adultery.<br />
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Embryo adoption also doesn’t carry with it the violence to the one-flesh union that comes with surrogacy or sperm donation, in which one spouse’s genetic material is joined with a stranger’s.<br />
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Embryo adoption would be problematic if the adoptions themselves became a further commodity in the buying and selling transactions of the reproductive technology business or if these adoptions were a widespread incentive for couples to justify the decision to “create” and freeze additional embryos. This is not, though, presently the case and doesn’t appear to be likely to become so anytime soon.<br />
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<a href="http://www.russellmoore.com/2010/02/22/is-embryo-adoption-immoral/" target="_blank">Originally posted here.</a><br />
<span style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #222222; font-family: Muli, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;"><i>Russell D. Moore is president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, the moral and public policy agency of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.</i></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-67447489290686861882014-03-07T18:02:00.000-08:002014-03-07T18:02:00.226-08:00Christians Should Oppose Stem Cell Research on Embryos<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">According to The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Christians should not support Embryonic Stem Cell Research.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By: Joe Carter, December 12, 2013</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Aren’t embryonic stem cells more effective than adult stem cells at treating diseases? No. In fact, just the opposite is true: there are more than 70 conditions currently being treated with adult stem cells, and zero with embryonic stem cells. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Despite the media hype of the early 2000s, </span><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">embryonic stem cell research has proven to be useless at treating medical conditions</span><span style="background-color: white;">. When tested on animals, embryonic stem cells turned into tumors. As biological engineer James Sherley once explained, “Figuring out how to use human embryonic stem cells directly by transplantation into patients is tantamount to solving the cancer problem.” Government and private funding sources have consistently shown a preference for adult stem cell research. For every dollar spent on embryonic stem cell research, four dollars is spent on research using adult stem cells. However, because of its unethical nature, more needs to be done to oppose any federal funding and discourage private funding of embryo-destructive research. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Can Christians support embryonic stem cell research? Several passages in the Bible strongly suggest that human life begins at conception (Job 31:13-15; Ps. 51:5; 139:13-16; Matt. 1:20). The Bible is also clear about the taking of innocent life (Exod. 20:13; Deut. 5:17). For these reasons, Christians should not support medical research that requires killing innocent human beings at the earliest stage of their development. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">See more at: http://erlc.com/article/what-christians-should-know-about-embryonic-stem-cell-research#sthash.INRD8Z3R.dpuf</span></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-46512777055282076622014-02-15T10:47:00.005-08:002014-02-15T10:47:58.438-08:00Top 10 Benefits of Embryo Adoption<br />
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<li><span style="background-color: white;">If a woman is experiencing premature menopause, or another infertility condition in which her own eggs are not viable for reproductive purposes, she can still become pregnant with a donor embryo.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">In one cost analysis study conducted in the United States, embryo adoption is approximately half the cost of an<a href="http://www.centerforhumanreprod.com/egg_donor_faq.html"> egg donation</a>.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Despite the connotations associated with the name, an embryo adoption is actually a transfer of property – not the adoption of a child. Therefore, the donating couple is not legally responsible in any way should a child be produced from the embryo.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">The discarding of embryos is ethically problematic for some individuals. Allowing these embryos to be used to help create a new life is an alternative to disposal or use in research.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Many embryo adoption programs will conduct a thorough home study to determine whether or not the embryo will be given to a couple who can provide a safe and loving environment should a child result.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, embryo adoptions have a national pregnancy success rate of 43 percent and live birth rate of 35 percent.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">The average time between submitting an application to receiving a donation is approximately 6 months, much shorter than the average time to receive an egg donation or adopt a child.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Many embryo banks include information about the donating individuals in order to help match the recipient with desired ethnic, sex, or physical traits.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">This adoption process is regulated by the government and all appropriate disease screening is required by law to protect the recipient.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Often times multiple embryos are available from a donor. If the recipient does not use all of these embryos – they can be returned to the original donor to be re-adopted out to another family in need.</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: white;">- See more at: http://www.newwavemediaonline.com/2011/05/top-10-benefits-embryo-adoption/#sthash.AFtXLGOI.dpuf</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-5215898268910962422014-02-06T09:43:00.004-08:002014-02-06T09:43:57.732-08:00Get Used to Embryo Adoption<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 16px;">Sarah Elizabeth Richards (TIME Magazine)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px;">This story is remarkable on many levels. First, the embryo that became Liam is believed to be one of the oldest ever that was thawed after being frozen for so long. His siblings who were conceived at the same time are now college age. Second, the way Liam came into this world is part of a growing trend of embryo donation that represents a promising solution to our national problem of hundreds</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px;"> of thousands of leftover IVF embryos languishing in storage.</span><img alt="Kelly Burke and Liam James." src="http://timeopinions.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/kelly-burke-3.jpg?w=360&h=240&crop=1" style="font-size: 16px;" title="" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px;">What do you do when you undergo in-vitro fertilization, conceive a child and find yourself left with extra embryos? One Oregon couple kept theirs in the freezer for 19 years after having a set of twins via IVF, in case they wanted to expand their family more someday. But, year after year, they didn’t move forward and instead paid their annual storage bill of several hundred dollars. Finally, they decided to give their four remaining embryos to Kelly Burke, 45, a single woman from </span><a href="http://topics.time.com/virginia/" style="color: black; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;">Virginia</a><span style="font-size: 16px;">. Two were thawed and transferred to Burke’s uterus, and </span><a href="http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/baby-born-after-19-years-as-an-embryo-185335593.html" style="color: black; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;">she’s now a mom</a><span style="font-size: 16px;"> to smiley 9-month-old Liam James.</span></div>
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(<strong>MORE:</strong> <a href="http://healthland.time.com/2013/07/05/how-healthy-are-ivf-babies/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">How Healthy Are IVF Babies?</a>)</div>
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As the use of IVF to treat infertility rises rapidly—more than 154,000 cycles were performed in 2011, compared with roughly 146,000 in 2010, according to the <a href="http://www.sart.org/find_frm.html" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology</a>—couples are often faced with the agonizing decision of what to do with their leftover embryos. Do they donate them, give them to research, discard them or leave them in storage indefinitely?</div>
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In theory, embryo donation seems like the ideal solution: You have embryos you don’t want. Other people desperately want them. But of course, it’s hard to for many couples to get past knowing that someone else would be raising their biological children (or their siblings unknowingly mating with them—a risk known as “accidental incest”).</div>
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<a href="http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(08)04204-0/abstract" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">One survey</a> of more than 1,000 patients from nine U.S. fertility clinics who had extra embryos found that nearly 60% said they were “very unlikely” to donate them to another couple trying to have a baby; only 7% were “very likely” to consider this option. “It was the idea that their child was walking around, and they couldn’t ensure it was having a great life,” says lead author Dr. Anne Drapkin Lyerly, an ob-gyn and associate director of the <a href="http://bioethics.unc.edu/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Center for Bioethics</a> at the <a href="http://www.med.unc.edu/socialmed/people/anne-lyerly" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</a>. “If they couldn’t raise that child, many felt that the responsible choice was to make sure they didn’t become children in someone else’s life. One woman told me, ‘I’d rather have them destroyed than born.’ ”</div>
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(<strong>MORE:</strong> <a href="http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/26/study-clarifies-link-between-fertility-treatments-and-neurological-problems-in-kids/#ixzz2cpJSVj7G" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Study Clarifies Link Between Fertility Treatments and Neurological Problems In Kids</a>)</div>
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But more and more people are deciding to have them born into other families. In 2011, there were 1,019 transfer cycles from donated embryos, which is up from 933 cycles in 2010. More than one third of those led to the birth of at least one child, according to the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/art/ART2010/sect4_fig43-47.htm#f47" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Centers for Disease Control</a>.</div>
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Couples who want to donate embryos have two options: They can go through a fertility clinic or an agency, and the experiences are quite different. For example, at the Center for Human Reproduction in <a href="http://topics.time.com/new-york-city/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">New York City</a>, which oversees about 20 such arrangements a year, donor couples allow the clinic to post information about their embryos’ genetic characteristics on a website. Interested recipients undergo physical and psychological screening. If it’s a match, the embryos change hands anonymously, and the recipients pay about $5,000 for the medical costs. However, at many agencies, donor couples are allowed to choose the recipients, who must undergo long waits, extensive vetting and home visits. The donations are called embryo “adoptions” and can cost thousands more.</div>
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Embryo adoption is a controversial term, and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine recently <a href="http://www.asrm.org/uploadedFiles/ASRM_Content/News_and_Publications/Ethics_Committee_Reports_and_Statements/Defining%20embryo%20donation2013.pdf" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">issued an opinion</a> arguing that the term should be reserved for actual living children. Yet the question remains whether allowing donors to have control over who gets their embryos would help them feel better about giving them up. “Our patients view it as adoption,” insists Stephanie Moyers, marketing manager for the National Embryo Donation Center in Knoxville, <a href="http://topics.time.com/tennessee/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Tennessee</a>, which stores some 300 sets (ranging from 1 to 20 embryos) from clinics. In fact, she says more than half of donors prefer an “open” process—which can range from asking to be notified of a pregnancy and a child’s milestones to regular contact and visits. “In one case, the donor and recipients families go to Disneyworld together every year,” she says. “The twins are five now.”</div>
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(<strong>MORE:</strong> <a href="http://healthland.time.com/2011/02/25/stop-worrying-stress-doesnt-hurt-chances-of-success-with-ivf/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Stress Doesn’t Hurt Chances of Success With IVF</a>)</div>
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As the practice grows, there are kinks to be worked out about which approaches work best for donors, recipients and the resulting children. And there are broader social consequences to be considered—namely the more than 100,000 children in foster care whose average age is seven to eight who might end up even more likely to be overlooked for adoption.</div>
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Yet, as our national stockpile continues to multiply, IVF patients are going to think more and more about embryo donation as an alternative to indecision. That includes Liam’s mom, who has two embryos left, donated by another woman, the fate of which she must now decide.</div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /><br />Read more: <a href="http://ideas.time.com/2013/08/24/get-used-to-embryo-adoption/#ixzz2sZ5lsyCQ" style="color: #003399; text-decoration: none;">Get Used to Embryo Adoption | TIME.com</a> <a href="http://ideas.time.com/2013/08/24/get-used-to-embryo-adoption/#ixzz2sZ5lsyCQ" style="color: #003399; text-decoration: none;">http://ideas.time.com/2013/08/24/get-used-to-embryo-adoption/#ixzz2sZ5lsyCQ</a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-30761582866571236472014-01-22T08:19:00.000-08:002014-01-22T08:32:26.344-08:00Today: Family Talk Radio Broadcast<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4;">The very first embryo adoptive family, the Strege's, tell how the very first "Snowflake Baby" came to be on the Family Talk radio broadcast with Dr. James Dobson. Tune in to hear how the journey of embryo adoption began and how it has progressed in 16 short years.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/family-talk/custom-player/" style="line-height: 1.4;" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> </span><span style="line-height: 1.4;">to listen to today's broadcast ONLINE.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.4;">Another (previously aired) broadcast on Embryo Adoption can be found <a href="http://www.drjamesdobson.org/Broadcasts/Broadcast?i=c43d3b0c-6b7c-40e8-b38d-77f1b39eac18" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-86932654614601697222014-01-21T12:38:00.001-08:002014-01-22T06:41:40.996-08:00Embryo Adoption Broadcast to Air TomorrowThe very first embryo adoptive family, the Strege family, will appear TOMORROW, Wednesday, January 22nd on the Family Talk radio broadcast with Dr. James Dobson. Tune in to hear how the journey of embryo adoption began.<br />
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<a href="http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/family-talk/custom-player/" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a> to listen to the broadcast ONLINE.<br />
<img src="http://drjamesdobson.org/images/marlene-hannah-strege.jpg" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-78611419726081688612014-01-10T12:26:00.000-08:002014-01-21T12:47:41.525-08:00The Disgrace of InfertilityBy: Nate Pyle<br />
Originally posted on his blog: <a href="http://natepyle.com/the-disgrace-of-infertility/">http://natepyle.com/the-disgrace-of-infertility/</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">This Christmas I preached through the Christmas story as told by Luke. For all the times I’ve read the story, I’ve never noticed this small line hidden in the middle of the Christmas narrative. But this year was different. This year, that small, innocent line refused to go unnoticed and forced me to see it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">After Elizabeth became pregnant with John, she praised God saying, “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6828995837591754540" name="33" style="color: #4d8b97; word-wrap: break-word;"></a> among the people.”</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; word-wrap: break-word;">We know that disgrace. My wife knows that disgrace. I know that disgrace.</strong></div>
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<em style="word-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="background-color: white; word-wrap: break-word;">Infertility.</strong></em></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">No, it isn’t the same type of disgrace that Elizabeth experienced. In that day, an inability to bear children was equated with sin. It was assumed that the reason for barrenness was your own doing. You must have done something. You must have something to repent of. Some sin you committed. Some reason God was withholding his blessing from you.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">You.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">You created the problem by your disobedience, and now God is punishing you.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Thankfully, the shame of disapproving eyes and rumored gossip doesn’t surround infertility in America anymore. But shame still exists.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Shame grows with constant thermometer readings. Peeing on countless sticks. Needles. Probes. Tiny plastic cups. Forever counting days. Sex that feels mechanical and forced because “It’s time.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Shame slips in with the silent words spoken as another, month pregnant only with hope, passes by. It is amazing how much silence surrounds the struggle of infertility. The silence of not wanting to talk about it. The silence of wanting to talk about, but being scared. The silence of trying to avoid the one thing you are wondering about, but not wanting to focus on it, and yet having your mind dominated by it. The silence of not feeling comfortable talking with others about it because it involves sex. The silence because you just don’t want to deal with the questions.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">That silence gives shame all the voice it needs to whisper silently, “Something is wrong with you.”</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; word-wrap: break-word;">Infertility is a shame-filled, silent trial, isolating couples in closed bedrooms of pain.</strong></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">As a man, the pain of infertility is difficult to talk about it. While my wife and I walked through our experiences together, she felt the pain of not being able to conceive more acutely than I did. Pregnancy was failing to take place in her body. Even though the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with either of us, she was the one scheduling the monthly ultrasounds. She was the one taking medications. She was the one physically being reminded every 28 days of the failure to conceive. The pain was much closer and much more tangible for her. And all I could do was stand back and watch. I felt hopeless. Unable to do what I normally do when situations aren’t what I want them to be: fix it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">We stood in the kitchen having the same discussion we’ve had every month. The sadness was making Sarah cry and I stood there helpless. I hugged her, but I couldn’t do anything else. I couldn’t fix this. This was out of my control.</span></div>
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<em style="background-color: white; word-wrap: break-word;">Helplessness is not a feeling I do well with.</em></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">As I held my crying wife, I didn’t cry, but quietly grieved and pulling back from hope. The grieving brought on by infertility is different than other grief I have experienced because you do not grieve what was lost, but what never was<em style="word-wrap: break-word;">. </em>At some point you start grieving for what never will be.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Men don’t talk often about infertility. My guess is that, if we started the conversations, a lot of guys would feel helpless. When people dream of starting their family, no one sees years of disappointment and frustration as part of the process. No, when we dream of starting our family it is a nice and tidy schedule. “First we will go off birth control, then in 3-6 months we will get pregnant.” Wouldn’t that be nice?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Instead those struggling with infertility find themselves dealing with resignation, bitterness, anger and exhaustion.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Exhaustion from fighting to hold on to hope.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><strong style="word-wrap: break-word;">Infertility is a brutal cycle that steps on hands gripping hope.</strong> The cycle begins each month with hope only to be followed by disappointment.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Hope.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">False alarm.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Hope.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Discouragement.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Hope.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Frustration.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Hope.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Shame.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Hope.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Despair.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">At any point in this cycle you are constantly reminded of what you cannot do by running into countless pregnant women in the grocery story, at church, or at the gym.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Church is a good place to find support, but it isn’t always a tower of refuge. The American church is one place in our culture where marriage and kids is an expectation. Singles are constantly met with questions about when they will get married, and unnecessarily pitied or prayed for when a potential spouse isn’t in the picture. Young married’s are bombarded about when they will start having kids, as if their marriage doesn’t really matter until a child validates it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Around church, having kids is talked about as if it is like scheduling a tune-up for your car. <strong style="word-wrap: break-word;">“Isn’t it time the two of you start having kids?” is one of the most painful questions a couple dealing with infertility can hear. Because thats <em style="word-wrap: break-word;">exactly</em> how they feel! It <em style="word-wrap: break-word;">is</em> time for them to start having kids. They’ve been hoping and praying and wanting and waiting for a long time for God to respond to their request. So yes, it is time, but no, kids don’t show up on a time table.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">My wife and I struggled for 14 months before we surprisingly found ourselves expecting our now 3 year-old son. We were literally starting to have all the testing done the next month when my wife woke me up with the news that she was pregnant.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">So many couples never wake up to that news.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">It’s now been over two years that we have tried for another child. Two years and an <a href="http://natepyle.com/confronting-the-lie-god-wont-give-you-more-than-you-can-handle/" style="color: #4d8b97; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" title="Confronting the lie: God won’t give you more than you can handle">ectopic pregnancy</a> that we had to end. I’m not writing because my wife and I have discovered some secret to living with infertility. I don’t think there is any. I’m not writing because I have some great pastoral wisdom to help comfort those who are struggling with infertility. In fact, I don’t even know how to end this post. All I have is this:</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; word-wrap: break-word;">You are not alone. Your struggle may be in silence, but you are not alone.</strong></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; word-wrap: break-word;">I don’t have a magic Bible verse of comfort, or prayer of peace, or words of wisdom, or any answers.</strong></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; word-wrap: break-word;">I only have “me too.” Us too. We know. We understand. And we mourn with you.</strong></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">So may we, together, accept that there is nothing wrong with us and see we are simply sharing in the human experience – which is simultaneously beautiful and painful, disheartening and hopeful.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">- See more at: http://natepyle.com/the-disgrace-of-infertility/#sthash.nHSVU1ue.dpuf</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-67767090864191033002013-10-07T20:43:00.000-07:002013-11-20T21:04:54.985-08:00Embryo Adoption on 'The Katie Show'<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; width: 770px;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><img alt="Photo: Did you miss the Katie Show's segment on Embryo Donation and Adoption? We've got you covered! http://embryodonationandadoption.blogspot.com/2013/10/did-you-miss-it-we-have-you-covered.html" src="https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/p480x480/1378898_10153359703945078_99407304_n.jpg" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">"The Katie Show" recently featured a special segment focusing on embryo donation and adoption. Two stories of embryo adoption were shared including </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; line-height: 15px;">Dan and Kelli Gassman and their 9-month old son Trevor. Guests also included Dr. Robin Poe-Zeigler, their Reproductive Endocrinologist, and Kimberly Tyson, Marketing and Program Director for the Embryo Adoption Awareness Center.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; line-height: 15px;"><a href="http://www.embryoadoption.org/videos/vp_Embryo_Adoption_on_The_Katie_Show.cfm" target="_blank">Please click here to see the full broadcast.</a></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-32559699918375224092013-10-01T20:35:00.000-07:002014-01-21T12:49:09.823-08:00A Snowflake Is Born - Zoe's Story<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDHaw-AQawba3ckSRl1EMQqoQ65kumnD1bzWD7KnbkMXwL6M7rGsbyQTgJ8a4wKfY3ygctY1pITpTugGPNb4x6rVmPhwnfKn-JFGu7gD7KD5tBPbk8YRY1NWPnLhTvX9lyF9c-xGhxy0c/s1600/IMG_2806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDHaw-AQawba3ckSRl1EMQqoQ65kumnD1bzWD7KnbkMXwL6M7rGsbyQTgJ8a4wKfY3ygctY1pITpTugGPNb4x6rVmPhwnfKn-JFGu7gD7KD5tBPbk8YRY1NWPnLhTvX9lyF9c-xGhxy0c/s320/IMG_2806.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Zoe Annadelle Johnson was born on
November 9, 2012, but her life began 3 years before that. Zoe was one of
six embryos created on May 8, 2009 through the use of In-vitro fertilization
(IVF). When she was 5 days old she was frozen. God had big plans for these tiny,
unique, pre-born “snowflake” babies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Embryos #1 and #2 were chosen to be
transferred to their biological mother. Both embryos implanted and nine months
later they were blessed with the births of a son and a daughter. With their
family of four completed, their attention quickly shifted to the fate of the
four frozen embryos waiting for their chance to be born. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Zoe’s biological parents were
presented with the standard options for her future as a “extra” embryo: destroy
them, donate them to scientific research (which would then destroy them), anonymously
donate them to an infertile couple, or find a family to adopt and carry them to
term. Reflecting on their belief that life begins at fertilization, they
quickly realized that destroying them or donating them to research would
terminate the precious life that had been created. The fate of the remaining
embryos weighed heavily on their minds and hearts for two years until they
connected online with Charis & Duffy Johnson in the fall of 2011.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Charis & Duffy had been through
the ringer with failed fertility and adoption efforts. In the spring of 2011, they
were blessed with a daughter, Julah Dawn, through domestic adoption. Shortly
afterwards, Charis’ friend Molly shared that she was planning on doing a
"Snowflake" adoption. Molly, a cancer survivor, had undergone
chemotherapy that had depleted her egg reserve, however, her doctor affirmed
that</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> she would be able to carry a pregnancy with adopted
embryos.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr49rAJOrjt0AtTnmhBOxSSynG9WZY93NFR9g6LGuh66twTm_wg6ou0RNTYv93M_P7t1xdAJ6Yw5dh-uXeo7YYTrLz65UFSAvR2RN-MF6ZbqM7Cul14q7rJim6DZwfljpQhWmF27z7Sdw/s1600/2012+2090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr49rAJOrjt0AtTnmhBOxSSynG9WZY93NFR9g6LGuh66twTm_wg6ou0RNTYv93M_P7t1xdAJ6Yw5dh-uXeo7YYTrLz65UFSAvR2RN-MF6ZbqM7Cul14q7rJim6DZwfljpQhWmF27z7Sdw/s320/2012+2090.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Charis questioned the process, “Why
not just adopt from a birthmother domestically or internationally?” The answer took
her breath away. Due to the dramatic increase of fertility and IVF in the past
decade, there are over 600,000 frozen embryos in the United States alone, with
over 50,000 of them needing adoptive families. The need was overwhelming. While
families were waiting for months or years to adopt a baby through tradition
adoption efforts, the reverse was true of embryo adoption. The embryos were
waiting. Waiting for a chance to be born and live. It truly was a matter of
life or death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Deeply burdened by the need, Charis began
researching the steps required to complete an embryo adoption. She found that
what she predicted to be a complicated and intricate process was surprisingly
simple. The embryos were designated as legal property which could be given, but
not sold. A simple notarized contract was all that was required to make an
embryo adoption legal. No lengthy legal processes, court fees, or unending
piles of paperwork to fill out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Duffy, however, remained unconvinced
that this was a feasible option. Many of his questions - such as Charis’ health
during pregnancy, legal issues, and the cost - came with answers that supported
the choice of embryo adoption. Charis would get to experience pregnancy, they
would have control over the prenatal environment of their child, they would be
recognized as the fully legal parents of the child before he/she was born
instead of waiting for months afterward, there would be no chance for a
birthmother to change her mind, and the total cost was a mere fraction of the
cost</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> of a traditional adoption.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The bottom line was that these babies
needed to be born,” Charis shared. The Johnsons connected with Zoe’s biological
family online in the Fall of 2011 and on December 15, 2011, Charis and Duffy’s
fourth wedding anniversary, they signed the papers to officially adopted the four frozen snowflake babies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The process progressed quickly and
easily from that point. Charis’ fertility clinic contacted the storage facility
and arranged the transportation. The four snowflake babies were shipped via
FedEx, and after two years of being suspended in a frozen state, Embryos #3 and
#4 were thawed and transferred to Charis. The Johnsons were thrilled to find to
find out two weeks later that they were pregnant! A bittersweet sonogram
revealed that while one baby had a healthy heartbeat, there was no sign of the
second embryo that had been transferred. Nine months later, Charis gave birth
to a baby girl. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHp-8sqF6INKfByTphx35yVDodp_nlvwpXi9Q_JtoWsWWmc0O6Y7q337-qWDA4V3ls62Rn3UFMFM40tIgjc5mMWDMAsDf-kCgObMvozQ9dflAxMq26rDOqGKAYAdZdBoLUbZ7UR6SC_LI/s1600/IMG_0881.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHp-8sqF6INKfByTphx35yVDodp_nlvwpXi9Q_JtoWsWWmc0O6Y7q337-qWDA4V3ls62Rn3UFMFM40tIgjc5mMWDMAsDf-kCgObMvozQ9dflAxMq26rDOqGKAYAdZdBoLUbZ7UR6SC_LI/s320/IMG_0881.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Duffy explained, “We chose the name
‘Zoe’ for our precious snowflake daughter as it is the Greek word for ‘life’.
God purposed her creation, and He has a plan for her life.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Charis continued, “On March 8, 2009,
God breathed life into 6 embryos. He knew from before their first cell
multiplied how many hairs would be on their heads and who would raise them. God
didn’t accidentally make too many embryos. He made two for their family and
four for our family. Zoe was created to be my daughter, and I was called to be
her mother.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Three weeks after Zoe was born, both
families gathered together to celebrate Zoe’s first Thanksgiving, giving thanks
for the precious bond, open adoption, and love they share. “The Johnson’s
openness to being flexible with the type of relationship we would have has
given us a wonderful transition. We love that we were able to bless a couple
who yearned for children. We couldn't be happier.” –Zoe’s Biological Mother<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Charis
and Duffy Johnson are co-founders of the
National Registry for Adoption, which seeks to connect families with remaining
embryos to adoptive families They reside in Dallas, Texas with their two
daughters, Julah and Zoe. Their two remaining snowflake babies (Embryos #5 and
#6) are scheduled to depart their frozen orphanage November 2013 and be
transferred to Charis. If you have any questions, or would like more
information, please feel free to contact Charis directly at charis.boone@nrfa.org.</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-81943448340788314842013-07-29T15:57:00.000-07:002013-07-29T15:57:00.423-07:00About 170,000 IVF Embryo Deaths Per Year in the U.S.<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">
NEW YORK, November 22, 2002 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A study in the current issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility, the official journal of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, boasts that artificial fertility techniques have become more effective over the years. The author of the study, Dr. James P. Toner, of the Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine in Woodstock, Georgia, writes that the rate of births per IVF attempt at pregnancy has increased from 10% to 30% from 1985 to 1999. However, a look at the government statistics Toner used in his analysis reveal that approximately 170,000 human embryos created in 1999 (when the practice became more effective according to Toner’s analysis) died in the process of attempting to conceive a child via<nobr><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/about-170000-ivf-embryo-deaths-per-year-in-us#" id="FALINK_1_0_0" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(28, 125, 255) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(28, 125, 255) !important; display: inline !important; padding-bottom: 1px !important;">in vitro fertilization</a></nobr>.<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">
The statistics from the Centers for <nobr><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/about-170000-ivf-embryo-deaths-per-year-in-us#" id="FALINK_3_0_2" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(28, 125, 255) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(28, 125, 255) !important; display: inline !important; padding-bottom: 1px !important;">Disease Control</a></nobr> indicate that in 1999, some 21,501 children were born using assisted reproductive techniques (ART). In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) accounts for 73.5% of the ART methods. In order to achieve the 21,501 births, 86,822 ART cycles were reported wherein on average 3 embryos are transferred per cycle.<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">See the Reuters coverage of the study: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20021120/hl_nm/reproduction_success_dc_2 See the CDC stats on the 1999 ART report: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/drh/ART99/section1.htm</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-8895078281624762802013-07-22T11:48:00.000-07:002014-01-21T12:48:26.031-08:00Frozen Embryos: Biotech's Hidden Dilemma PART 3 of 3<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #484646; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.65625px;">Ron Stoddart, director of Nightlight Christian Adoptions, a nonprofit that facilitates </span><nobr style="background-color: white; color: #484646; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.65625px; z-index: 1;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html#" id="FALINK_2_0_1" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; outline: none; padding-bottom: 1px !important; z-index: 1;">Christian adoption</a></nobr><span style="background-color: white; color: #484646; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.65625px;">, David Cook, a Wheaton College bioethics expert, and Ellen Painter Dollar, the author of a forthcoming book about Christian perspectives on reproductive and genetic technology, weigh in on what should be done with frozen embryos left over at</span><nobr style="background-color: white; color: #484646; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.65625px; z-index: 1;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html#" id="FALINK_1_0_0" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; outline: none; padding-bottom: 1px !important; z-index: 1;">fertility clinics</a></nobr><span style="background-color: white; color: #484646; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.65625px;">.</span></span><br />
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<br />
<h4 class="subhead" style="background-color: white; color: #dd3f1f; font-size: 1.15em; margin: 0px; z-index: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">First, Help Couples</span></h4>
<div class="intro" style="background-color: white; color: #484646; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14pt; padding: 0px 10px 18px 0px; z-index: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Christians need much better resources for ethical and theological reflection.</span></div>
<div class="intro" style="background-color: white; color: #484646; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14pt; padding: 0px 10px 18px 0px; z-index: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">by: Ellen Painter Dollar</span></div>
<div class="text" style="background-color: white; color: #231f20; font-size: 0.95em; line-height: 16pt; padding: 0px 10px 18px 0px; z-index: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Our oldest daughter inherited from me a <nobr style="z-index: 1;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html?start=2#" id="FALINK_3_0_2" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; outline: none; padding-bottom: 1px !important; z-index: 1;">disabling</a></nobr> bone disorder called osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). When she was 2 years old and living through a harrowing cycle of broken bones, we underwent pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in an attempt to have a second child who would not have OI.</span></div>
<div class="text" style="background-color: white; color: #231f20; font-size: 0.95em; line-height: 16pt; padding: 0px 10px 18px 0px; z-index: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">PGD is in-vitro fertilization (IVF) with the added step of <nobr style="z-index: 1;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html?start=2#" id="FALINK_2_0_1" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; outline: none; padding-bottom: 1px !important; z-index: 1;">genetic screening</a></nobr>. Only one of four embryos tested negative for OI and was implanted, but I did not get pregnant. (We eventually<a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html?start=2#" id="_GPLITA_2" in_rurl="http://i.tracksrv.com/click?v=VVM6NDMwNTc6MTUyNjpjb25jZWl2ZWQ6OGJiOTg1YTM2NWQxNzk3ZTNiZTYxOGI2NmQ5NGJmZWE6ei0xNDkwLTI1MzEyMjp3d3cuY2hyaXN0aWFuaXR5dG9kYXkuY29tOjU5MTg5OjQwOGRkOTJiNmY5ZTNkZjJhM2I0NmYxMzlkMjFiYzdi" style="color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; outline: none; z-index: 1;" title="Click to Continue > by CouponDropDown">conceived</a> both our second and third children naturally; neither of them inherited OI.) We had the other three embryos destroyed. We made that decision with little reflection, in the emotional muddle of caring for a broken toddler while undergoing a strenuous procedure loaded with tough questions.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A failure to contemplate the ethics of embryo disposition before undergoing IVF is common, while clear decisions are not. A 2005 study found that 72 percent of couples interviewed had not made and were not making decisions about embryo disposition. An earlier study revealed that more than 80 percent of couples who had planned to donate their embryos for research or to other couples changed their minds. These couples had deeply personal ideas about their embryos as potential children, siblings to existing children, and symbols of their <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html?start=3#" id="_GPLITA_4" in_rurl="http://i.tracksrv.com/click?v=VVM6NDI0MjU6MTg6aW5mZXJ0aWxpdHk6YmE1YmNlYjg5ODFiODUyZWNkOWFjYmQ3NmQxZDE5ODM6ei0xNDkwLTI1MzEyMjp3d3cuY2hyaXN0aWFuaXR5dG9kYXkuY29tOjU0MjU5OmFjMDZhYzQ3ZjdiODQ2ODE2YTAzMjFhMmQ4NjU5ZWIy" style="color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; outline: none; z-index: 1;" title="Click to Continue > by CouponDropDown">infertility</a>. The study also found that couples were more focused on <nobr style="z-index: 1;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html?start=3#" id="FALINK_2_0_1" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; outline: none; padding-bottom: 1px !important; z-index: 1;">getting pregnant</a></nobr> than on the decisions that might follow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This focus means that considering the moral dimensions of fertility medicine is usually not part of the plan, for either patients or clinicians. Our clinic had a psychologist available to discuss ethical and emotional concerns, but we were never encouraged, much less required, to meet with her. Christian friends offered support, but we found church resources inadequate. Many faith communities are ill equipped to counsel couples on the ethical questions raised by assisted reproduction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Fertility patients need help with the ethical and emotional questions, both before and throughout the process. A psychologist or other counselor should take substantial time at IVF information sessions to <nobr style="z-index: 1;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html?start=3#" id="FALINK_1_0_0" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; outline: none; padding-bottom: 1px !important; z-index: 1;">educate</a></nobr> patients about the questions they will face and encourage couples to meet with <nobr style="z-index: 1;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html?start=3#" id="FALINK_3_0_2" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; outline: none; padding-bottom: 1px !important; z-index: 1;">counselors</a></nobr> or religious advisers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Christians have much work to do. These reproductive technologies now touch millions of families. Seminaries should add instruction about reproductive bioethics to their curricula. Pastors need to educate themselves about current technologies and encourage couples to step off the fertility-treatment treadmill for a time to think faithfully about the rocky terrain they are entering on the journey toward parenthood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Some couples may decide not to go the IVF route after all, while others will be better equipped to make embryo disposition decisions with forethought and care.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Did my husband and I sin by having our embryos destroyed? I'm sure many would say the answer is clearly yes. But there is far more complexity than clarity in reproductive ethics. I am certain about one thing: Christians need much better resources for ethical and theological reflection before undergoing IVF. Perhaps more meaningful reflection will lead to fewer Christians taking that step, and fewer embryos ending up in <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html?start=3#" id="_GPLITA_1" in_rurl="http://i.tracksrv.com/click?v=VVM6MjE4NTc6MTg6ZnJlZXplcnM6ZGZjYjc5MTk0ZTE3MTk0OTU5NjM3MjU3MDQxOTVlZDU6ei0xNDkwLTI1MzEyMjp3d3cuY2hyaXN0aWFuaXR5dG9kYXkuY29tOjA6MA" style="color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; outline: none; z-index: 1;" title="Click to Continue > by CouponDropDown">freezers</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Originally posted by Christianity Today, July 28, 2010</span></div>
<div class="text" style="background-color: white; color: #231f20; font-size: 0.95em; line-height: 16pt; padding: 0px 10px 18px 0px; z-index: 1;">
<a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html?start=3"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html?start=3</span></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-63626481708184256902013-07-15T11:47:00.000-07:002014-01-21T12:48:42.767-08:00Frozen Embryos: Biotech's Hidden Dilemma PART 2 of 3<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #484646; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.65625px;">Ron Stoddart, director of Nightlight Christian Adoptions, a nonprofit that facilitates </span><nobr style="background-color: white; color: #484646; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.65625px; z-index: 1;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html#" id="FALINK_2_0_1" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; outline: none; padding-bottom: 1px !important; z-index: 1;">Christian adoption</a></nobr><span style="background-color: white; color: #484646; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.65625px;">, David Cook, a Wheaton College bioethics expert, and Ellen Painter Dollar, the author of a forthcoming book about Christian perspectives on reproductive and genetic technology, weigh in on what should be done with frozen embryos left over at </span><nobr style="background-color: white; color: #484646; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.65625px; z-index: 1;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html#" id="FALINK_1_0_0" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; outline: none; padding-bottom: 1px !important; z-index: 1;">fertility clinics</a></nobr><span style="background-color: white; color: #484646; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.65625px;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4 class="subhead" style="background-color: white; color: #dd3f1f; font-size: 1.15em; margin: 0px; z-index: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Take Responsibility for Embryos</span></h4>
<div class="intro" style="background-color: white; color: #484646; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14pt; padding: 0px 10px 18px 0px; z-index: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">There are no ideal scenarios, but we must work for a solution.</span></div>
<div class="intro" style="background-color: white; color: #484646; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14pt; padding: 0px 10px 18px 0px; z-index: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">by: David Cook</span></div>
<div class="text" style="background-color: white; color: #231f20; font-size: 0.95em; line-height: 16pt; padding: 0px 10px 18px 0px; z-index: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Before we can set significant guidelines regarding the fate of unused, frozen human embryos, we must ask: Who is responsible for them? Since embryos cannot make decisions, who gets to decide whether they will be donated, adopted, or destroyed?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Parents decide for their children, and families decide what will happen to an unconscious or dying family member.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Good <nobr style="z-index: 1;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html?start=2#" id="FALINK_1_0_0" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; outline: none; padding-bottom: 1px !important; z-index: 1;">fertility clinics</a></nobr> will have clear protocols protecting the rights of parents and donors. The embryos in question were created to help the childless, so adopting or donating fulfills the same goal for the <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html?start=2#" id="_GPLITA_3" in_rurl="http://i.tracksrv.com/click?v=VVM6NDExNDE6MTY5MzpiZW5lZml0OjM4MzllYmYyMmViNGQzODExZTdmMzE2MDRlNDA4ZmM5OnotMTQ5MC0yNTMxMjI6d3d3LmNocmlzdGlhbml0eXRvZGF5LmNvbTo1MTg3OToxMDEzODY3ZWU5ZjRhNzNmYTVmOTgwMmM1YzZhNWE5Mg" style="color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; outline: none; z-index: 1;" title="Click to Continue > by CouponDropDown">benefit</a> of the child and the childless.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But parents are not the only ones who need to take responsibility.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> Governments, <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html?start=2#" id="_GPLITA_1" in_rurl="http://i.tracksrv.com/click?v=VVM6NDM5ODk6MTUyNjpob3NwaXRhbHM6YTFjNzQzM2QyNWI0ODAxYzgzZjI3Mzk5MmU4YWJkYzY6ei0xNDkwLTI1MzEyMjp3d3cuY2hyaXN0aWFuaXR5dG9kYXkuY29tOjc0NzQxOmU4NjE1OGJhYjJmZDlmYjFmZTkwM2JiZDUzOTZmMzAx" style="color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; outline: none; z-index: 1;" title="Click to Continue > by CouponDropDown">hospitals</a>, and medical authorities also need to have clear guidelines about dealing with potentially profitable human tissue. In the UK, a scandal involving hospitals taking human material from patients and using it without their consent led to funerals for body parts. The prospect of holding funerals for thousands of destroyed embryos is horrifying; yet if we believe we are dealing with human beings, what does it mean to give embryos dignity and respect?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Embryos must be protected from evil. Not everyone believes that embryos are fully human or deserve all the protection given to unborn life. But Christians believe there is a clear progression from the moment of fertilization to the person's death.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">For those who believe in the sanctity of life, adoption, donation, or the development of artificial wombs to carry children who are not adopted seem the morally acceptable options for preserving life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">On the other hand, we cannot force those who are unconcerned about embryonic life to preserve it unless we offer genuine alternatives to the slaughter of the innocent: destroying "spare" embryos. Clinics, donors, and parents try to sell human tissue ranging from blood to organs, so they must take up the ethical question of selling embryos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It is entirely plausible to go so far as pushing to legally ban human embryo destruction. Germany has such a ban, and also has one of Europe's most thriving biotech research sectors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">At the heart of fertility medicine is a deep desire to have children, help the childless, and make a great deal of money. A growing number of couples are desperate for children; adopting unused embryos to be carried in the wombs of infertile women may be those couples' best chance of having children.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Adoption is clearly a way of allowing embryos to be born and rectifying a bad situation in the child's best interest. It would proactively encourage the creation of fewer embryos, rather than reacting after the problem has been created.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Parents, medical workers, and everyone who is concerned about embryonic lives should begin by accepting responsibility for the problem and work for a solution that embraces the sanctity of life and protects the unborn. There are no ideal scenarios, but we can protect the innocent, preserve human life, and care for the needy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Originally posted by Christianity Today, July 28, 2010</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html?start=2"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html?start=2</span></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-70942361156221038042013-07-08T11:44:00.001-07:002014-01-21T12:48:55.638-08:00Frozen Embryos: Biotech's Hidden Dilemma PART 1 of 3<span style="background-color: white;">Part One by: Ron Stoddart</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Originally posted by Christianity Today, July 28, 2010</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ron Stoddart, director of Nightlight Christian adoptions, a nonprofit that facilitates <nobr style="z-index: 1;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html#" id="FALINK_2_0_1" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; outline: none; padding-bottom: 1px !important; z-index: 1;">Christian adoption</a></nobr>, David Cook, a Wheaton College bioethics expert, and Ellen Painter Dollar, the author of a forthcoming book about Christian perspectives on reproductive and genetic technology, weigh in on what should be done with frozen embryos left over at <nobr style="z-index: 1;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html#" id="FALINK_1_0_0" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; outline: none; padding-bottom: 1px !important; z-index: 1;">fertility clinics</a></nobr>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 0.95em; line-height: 16pt; text-align: center;">When couples choose in-vitro fertilization to create embryos to help build their families, the unused embryos are frozen for future attempts at pregnancy. Most couples are unprepared for what to do with remaining embryos once their family is</span><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 0.95em; line-height: 16pt; text-align: center;"> </span><a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html#" id="_GPLITA_3" in_rurl="http://i.tracksrv.com/click?v=VVM6MzYxMzI6MjE1NTpjb21wbGV0ZTpjMjljY2E0ZTllZjE1NGRmZDlmZmRiNTE1ZDAzMjcxNTp6LTE0OTAtMjUzMTIyOnd3dy5jaHJpc3RpYW5pdHl0b2RheS5jb206NTYwMDc6NjUwZTU0MTc5ZDMwN2FiYmY0MTI5NjA3OWU0YzZlMDE" style="color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; font-size: 0.95em; line-height: 16pt; outline: none; text-align: center; z-index: 1;" title="Click to Continue > by CouponDropDown">complete</a><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 0.95em; line-height: 16pt; text-align: center;">. There are over 500,000 embryos currently frozen in storage at American clinics.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Although together these embryos occupy a space the size of a 12mm cube—the size of a board game die—they represent the population of a city the size of Atlanta. Size is subject to perspective. We all look mighty small from the moon. But to God, we are wondrously made and valuable at every stage of development.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In 2009, a public opinion <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html#" id="_GPLITA_1" in_hdr="" in_rurl="http://i.tracksrv.com/click?v=VVM6Mzg3MTE6MjMyNjpzdXJ2ZXk6NjBmYzM2NjY1NmIxYzBkNjU3MzQ3MDVkYmYxNDExNTE6ei0xNDkwLTI1MzEyMjp3d3cuY2hyaXN0aWFuaXR5dG9kYXkuY29tOjQ4ODk0OjgzZmEwYTE3OTA2ZTI5ZmJlOWJkZWYwM2JjOWE0ZWJl" style="color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; outline: none; z-index: 1;" title="Click to Continue > by CouponDropDown">survey</a> asked what should be done with remaining embryos. Most respondents said that the embryos should be donated to other infertile couples (68.8 percent) rather than being destroyed (5.9 percent) or being donated for research (which also destroys them).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">To answer this question from a Christian perspective, we must first understand what an embryo is. Unlike an egg or sperm cell, an embryo is a <nobr style="z-index: 1;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html#" id="FALINK_3_0_2" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; outline: none; padding-bottom: 1px !important; z-index: 1;">complete</a></nobr> pre-born human being with a full set of chromosomes and DNA. Just like you and me, it is a unique human unlike any other on earth. Science tells us that life begins when a sperm and egg unite. From that point forward, the embryo needs only nutrients and a safe place to grow to develop into a child.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So what are we to do with the large number of embryos who occupy such a tiny space? Fertility clinics typically give patients four choices: donate the embryos to another couple, donate the embryos for research, destroy the embryos, or keep the embryos in frozen storage. We may agree that the best choice is for the couple who created the embryos to try for another pregnancy with them. But what if the couple does not want additional children?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In that case, donating the embryos to another couple seems like the most loving choice. But the donor family might be concerned about another family parenting "their child" (a concern shared by every birthmother who has chosen adoption over abortion).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">More than 3,000 children have been born in the United States through embryo donation or adoption. Fertility clinics have had embryo donation <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/25.46.html#" id="_GPLITA_2" in_rurl="http://i.tracksrv.com/click?v=VVM6NDEzMzg6MTEyNTpwcm9ncmFtczo1NWM2MzAzZTAwZjllNzEzNjkzMjI5NTVhMDY1ZDZlMTp6LTE0OTAtMjUzMTIyOnd3dy5jaHJpc3RpYW5pdHl0b2RheS5jb206NTc1ODk6OGZmM2RlMzU3ODkyYzM3NTNiYThiYzJlM2M0ZjM4NzU" style="color: #231f20; cursor: pointer; outline: none; z-index: 1;" title="Click to Continue > by CouponDropDown">programs</a> for over 20 years, but embryo adoption, a process whereby donors are actively involved in finding parents to receive the embryos, began in 1997 with Nightlight Christian Adoptions' Snowflakes program. Donors have a choice in what to do with their remaining embryos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">For those who believe that life begins at conception and is worthy of protection and a chance to impact the world as God intended, only one choice remains: birth.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-51262739412638319922013-07-01T07:07:00.000-07:002014-01-21T12:50:56.856-08:00“The Disposition Decision” — What to Do With the Embryos?<span style="background-color: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.45em;">by: Albert Mohler</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For most Americans, the moral status of the human embryo is a question that seems quite remote. Even as hundreds of thousands of “excess” human embryos are now stored in American <a href="http://www.albertmohler.com/2009/08/28/the-disposition-decision-what-to-do-with-the-embryos/#" id="_GPLITA_0" in_rurl="http://i.tracksrv.com/click?v=VVM6MjY3Njg6MTMwNDpmZXJ0aWxpdHkgY2xpbmljczo5NDg1NmI2Nzc1YmJhOWY0NTQzMmIxYzE5YWI1ZjY1MTp6LTE0OTAtMjUzMTIyOnd3dy5hbGJlcnRtb2hsZXIuY29tOjE4MDA0OjkyYzAyMWYwMDIyM2IzMzUwYWNhMjJhZTUzMDFlY2M1" style="color: #1a1a1a; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="Click to Continue > by CouponDropDown">fertility clinics</a> and laboratories, to most Americans these frozen embryos are out of sight and out of mind. Thus, one of the most important moral challenges of our day remains largely off the screen of our national discourse. The issue cannot remain out of sight or out of mind for long.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Indeed, for hundreds of thousands of couples (and in many cases, just individuals) this crucial moral question grows more difficult to ignore by the day. For those whose progeny are now frozen in <nobr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.albertmohler.com/2009/08/28/the-disposition-decision-what-to-do-with-the-embryos/#" id="FALINK_1_0_0" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; display: inline !important; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">fertility clinics</a></nobr>, the “disposition decision” will eventually have to be made. The decision about the eventual disposition of these human embryos will reveal what these couples truly believe about human dignity and the sanctity of human life. On the larger landscape, the pattern of these decisions and the policies adopted by medical practitioners will reveal the soul of our culture as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><nobr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.albertmohler.com/2009/08/28/the-disposition-decision-what-to-do-with-the-embryos/#" id="FALINK_3_0_2" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; display: inline !important; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Writing</a></nobr> in <a href="http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/embryos-in-limbo" style="color: #1a1a1a; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The New Atlantis</em></a>, Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill contributes an essay on this issue that is both informative and haunting. She begins with an anecdote that establishes the moral sense of urgency we face on this issue:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Noah Markham was born in January 2007 to worldwide media notice. Like his Biblical namesake, this Noah had been saved from a flood. He had been one in a barrel of frozen embryos transported in a flat-bottomed boat from a flooded east New Orleans hospital in the days after Hurricane Katrina by the Louisiana State Police and Illinois <a href="http://www.albertmohler.com/2009/08/28/the-disposition-decision-what-to-do-with-the-embryos/#" id="_GPLITA_2" in_rurl="http://i.tracksrv.com/click?v=VVM6NDI3MTI6MTg6Y29uc2VydmF0aW9uOjRjY2E1NmE3NmU1OTNhZjgwMzg3NjRhMmY3NzViMDEyOnotMTQ5MC0yNTMxMjI6d3d3LmFsYmVydG1vaGxlci5jb206NTYzOTQ6YWMwNmFjNDdmN2I4NDY4MTZhMDMyMWEyZDg2NTllYjI" style="color: #1a1a1a; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="Click to Continue > by CouponDropDown">Conservation</a> Police. Interviewed at the time of Noah’s birth, his mother, Rebekah Markham, said that she and her husband Glen were uncertain about whether they would use their remaining three frozen embryos to add to their family of Noah and his big brother Witt. Interviewed again on the occasion of Noah’s first birthday, she said, “How can I not? I’m happy with two, but how can you not when you know what the possibility is? We almost lost Noah. I don’t want to lose the others voluntarily</em>.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, most of these stored human embryos are not in direct danger of a hurricane. Nevertheless, they are all in danger of both neglect and destruction — a moral context of quicksand that is the inevitable consequence of producing far greater numbers of embryos than are ever intended to be transferred to a mother’s womb.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, the moral issues related to advanced reproductive technologies are manifold and complicated. Advances in <a href="http://www.albertmohler.com/2009/08/28/the-disposition-decision-what-to-do-with-the-embryos/#" id="_GPLITA_1" in_rurl="http://i.tracksrv.com/click?v=VVM6MzI5OTg6MTMwNDppdmY6NmM5NGM3Njg2NWQ5MGQxZWU1ZWE2YmRmMjQyYWZjYWE6ei0xNDkwLTI1MzEyMjp3d3cuYWxiZXJ0bW9obGVyLmNvbTozMjY1MzphYzA2YWM0N2Y3Yjg0NjgxNmEwMzIxYTJkODY1OWViMg" style="color: #1a1a1a; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="Click to Continue > by CouponDropDown">IVF</a> technology now project the potential that frozen embryos could be successfully transferred into a womb years or even decades after fertilization. For the first time in human history, this allows for a form of generational confusion human beings have never encountered before. Quite literally, an embryo from a genetic ancestor generation could potentially be transferred into a womb and gestate, thus being born after the generation of what would be considered his or her grandchildren. Are we ready for this? A technology that has allowed so many couples to give birth to desperately-wanted children has also brought a host of moral complications.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Clearly, the majority of women whose fertilized eggs are now stored in reproductive <a href="http://www.albertmohler.com/2009/08/28/the-disposition-decision-what-to-do-with-the-embryos/#" id="_GPLITA_3" in_rurl="http://i.tracksrv.com/click?v=VVM6MzYxMzI6MjE1NTpoZWFsdGg6OGZmYTRlM2YzOTY1YzAzMmZhN2YxZDc5NzA5YzgyNjI6ei0xNDkwLTI1MzEyMjp3d3cuYWxiZXJ0bW9obGVyLmNvbTo1NzE5MTo4MmZiYjFiZDMyZDE1N2UyODM3MjhhMDMzZmEzN2NlMA" style="color: #1a1a1a; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="Click to Continue > by CouponDropDown">health</a> clinics are not even ready to make a decision about the disposition of the embryos that will not be transferred into their wombs. Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill cites two studies indicating that over 70% of such women lack <nobr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a class="FAtxtL" href="http://www.albertmohler.com/2009/08/28/the-disposition-decision-what-to-do-with-the-embryos/#" id="FALINK_2_0_1" style="background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(243, 91, 0) !important; display: inline !important; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">a plan</a></nobr> for what to do with these embryos and seem intent to postpone that decision as long as possible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the most important part of her essay, Merrill cites a study published in the scientific journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2005.01.134" style="color: #1a1a1a; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fertility and Sterility</em></a> in which patients were asked to rank their estimation of the moral status of the embryo from “minimum moral status” to “maximum moral status.” Only 10% of these patients indicated their belief that the human embryo should be considered as having “minimum moral status.” But this means that one out of ten patients responded that they consider the human embryo to be of virtually no moral significance whatsoever. Some see these embryos as something akin to excess body parts. Some actually spoke of these embryos as being stored in the event they needed a “replacement” for other children. As Merrill explains, “Presumably the disposition decision is easiest for these few patients who think of embryos as lacking moral worth, free of the weight of morally fraught deliberations at the conclusion of their IVF treatment.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The other nine out of ten patients estimated the moral status of their embryos on a continuum ranging from some moral status to “maximum moral status.” As these patients reflected, the decision about what to do with their embryos was understood to be freighted with moral consequence. As Merrill reports, these patients recognized their own “strange feelings about discarding human life.” Nevertheless, “strange feelings” are no substitute for responsible moral decision-making.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill makes clear, the structure of the IVF process allows for hundreds of thousands of frozen human embryos to be created in laboratories without any clear plan for their future. She is undoubtedly correct in suggesting that most patients see these embryos as the promise of fertility at the time of their treatment. But what about these embryos and their future once the childbearing years are over? Some patients indicated a willingness to allow other infertile couples to “adopt” their embryos. Nevertheless, these represent only a fraction of the patients involved in the study. Furthermore, many of these individuals and couples are apparently more theoretically committed to this option then in fact. In the end, very few patients choose to allow the adoption of their embryos — often seen as akin to “virtual children.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another small percentage indicated a willingness to allow the embryos to be used in medical research. As Merrill explains, this is often a hypothetical possibility anyway, since most of these embryos are unsuitable for medical research. Of course the greater problem with this option is that it views human embryos as mere material for medical research. The embryos are destroyed in the name of medical science.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A significant number of patients are deciding to “thaw” their embryos and allow their demise. Hauntingly, Merrill writes of some patients and couples who understand clearly enough that these embryos are of some moral significance, and some patients express a desire for some ceremony to accompany the demise of their embryonic progeny.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For the vast majority of patients, the current decision is to make no decision at all. This condition will not last, for the reproductive technology industry faces logistical, moral, financial, and technological limitations to the indefinite storage of what may even now be more than a million human embryos that are never to be transferred into wombs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The “disposition decision” related to these frozen human embryos represents one of the most significant, if neglected, moral crises of our age. This crisis is entirely the result of our own technologies and we as a society bear responsibility for this moral crisis. As it now stands, we face the specter of untold thousands of frozen human embryos who will meet their demise largely out of sight and out of mind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps the most chilling question is this: How long will it be before someone asks about the moral status of <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">all</em> human beings — embryonic or otherwise — and proposes that this moral status be estimated on a continuum from “minimal moral status” to “maximum moral status?” We cannot fool ourselves into thinking that this essential question of human dignity will be restricted to frozen embryos in the laboratory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(reposted from original article on August 28, 2009)</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.albertmohler.com/2009/08/28/the-disposition-decision-what-to-do-with-the-embryos/" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.albertmohler.com/2009/08/28/the-disposition-decision-what-to-do-with-the-embryos/</span></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-22130811566955658952013-07-01T05:54:00.000-07:002014-04-09T06:02:23.744-07:00FREE Online Embryo Adoption Matching<div>
<a href="http://www.nrfa.org/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf8vrsZB87VRO9krF7wcfi5KGPtIfY7xD8Y69eJeIU1A-awowQfNQKk1oEphIgSFMckC0uJTw6RCFIb1rX7-YT_H3NFWhErrvlJd2B3ETP_DZwnZeFtVIKMi-V2MM6SmwXFLVGKEE6UnI/s1600/nrfalogo.png" /></a></div>
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Find your embryos online for free at <a href="http://www.nrfa.org/">www.NRFA.org</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.nrfa.org/" target="_blank">The National Registry for Adoption</a> (or <a href="http://www.nrfa.org/" target="_blank">NRFA</a>) is an online matching service that allows embryo adoptive families connect with embryo donors. It is an affordable and expedient way to make embryo"<a href="http://www.nrfa.org/" target="_blank">Adoption Simplified</a>".<div>
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Currently, <a href="http://www.nrfa.org/" target="_blank">NRFA</a> is allowing participants to try out their website for 6 months with coupon code: FAMILY316 (families waiting for embryos) or DONATEFREE (families with embryos). Apply the code at checkout on <a href="http://www.nrfa.org/">www.NRFA.org</a> to the 6 month package.</div>
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Credit: <a href="http://www.nrfa.org/" target="_blank">The National Registry for Adoption</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-60236022501726608502013-04-15T05:00:00.000-07:002013-04-15T06:23:40.121-07:00Embryo Adoption Video Contest<br />
There's a GREAT video contest featuring stories of embryo adoption being showcased on facebook from April 15-30th. <br />
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Check out and VOTE for Charis & Duffy's video <a href="http://bit.ly/13NoukC" target="_blank">here</a>:</div>
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<a href="http://bit.ly/13NoukC" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Duffy and Charis Johnson" border="0" height="266" mta="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwVi54_d25Tz3kpoas7AWugPtv3VnA-FfeMoESNwUZ6AutQGdltQXWmbgjoQTih073jnTY7fqWOhDl-Pkls3OXR8ucybu_IDLVosY0NPuANaNnFN8etKFWmw_Zcni4W2CC2RKZHlNEFY/s400/IMG_0950.jpg" title="Embryo Adoption Video Contest" width="400" /></a></div>
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Photo: PixelPerfectPhotoBlog.com</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-75202598370685197792013-04-09T12:13:00.000-07:002013-04-12T12:13:37.190-07:00Telestration Tuesday - Chapter 6: Give Birth to Your Adopted Child<br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/Z5Vhgq" target="_blank"><img alt="" aria-busy="true" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowliftCaption" class="spotlight" height="285" src="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/563585_10152755688315078_1952944393_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Credit: Embryo Adoption Awareness CenterUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-5427276904093825342013-04-02T11:45:00.003-07:002013-04-02T11:55:58.739-07:00Telestration Tuesday - Chapter 5: Embryo Adoption Pros & Cons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://bit.ly/Xb9sQH" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="285" mta="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPN5xcZwIbCowmBqDRO6gWsbFg6RfbqDVCtQBYdWzmS9QLQbgNefPz4hfG8Ho3BMGXCqsQZt6JtkCC5xV0tW-B0bFx4iSrBDNkfresHnWSyzTPqqwZgiIhF6RHseeCFQ7QuUsWrcAPKU/s400/embryo+telestration+video.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-36071577370885985032013-03-26T08:00:00.000-07:002013-04-02T12:16:01.318-07:00Telestration Tuesday - Chapter 4: The Process of Embryo Adoption<a href="http://bit.ly/Yy3fkN" target="_blank"><img alt="Video 4: The Process of Embryo Adoption" height="284" src="http://www.embryoadoption.org/images/videos/CHAPTER_4_THE_PROCESS.jpg" title="If you are curious about embryo adoption and how it works, you need to watch this quick and informative video. Embryo adoption may sound 'crazy' at first, but to the 3,500 children who have been born into their loving families it feels like LIFE! There are more than 600,000 embryos in frozen storage in the U.S. Perhaps one or more of them is the child you have been waiting for!" vspace="10" width="400" /></a><br />
Credit: Embryo Adoption Awareness CenterUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-69401652797076987702013-03-25T11:10:00.001-07:002014-04-22T17:48:33.166-07:00Steps of an Embryo Adoption<strong><span style="color: #073763;">1. Locate your donor/"bio-family".</span> </strong>There are several ways to do this. You can sign up through an <a href="http://www.compassadoption.org/" target="_blank">agency </a>or <a href="http://www.nrfa.org/" target="_blank">online matching service</a>.<br />
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<span style="color: #073763;"><strong>2. Get your doctor's approval.</strong></span> Your fertility doctor will look at all the medical factors and then give you their recommendation. Once you're serious about a potential match, ask for their medical & embryo records so that your doctor can have all the information and point out any facts you may have overlooked or misunderstood.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #073763;">3. Sign a contract.</span></strong> In most states, embryo adoption is considered a "property transfer" much like selling a vehicle. If you prefer to, you can tailor your contract to be more like a traditional adoption agreement.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #073763;">4. Arrange transportation for the embryos. </span></strong>This is much easier than it sounds. The clinic currently housing the embryos will tell you which tranportation company they prefer and give you their contact info. You will sign some paperwork, give them your payment info, tell them which clinic to ship it to and they will take care of the rest.<br />
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<span style="color: #073763;"><strong>5. Start taking meds.</strong></span> Once your embryos have arrived safely at their new clinic, your doctor will start you on medicine (estrogen & maybe progesterone) to prepare your body. Typically, you can expect to take one or two pills per day with little to no side effects.<br />
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<span style="color: #073763;"><strong>6. Frozen embryo transfer. </strong></span>This procedure is very similiar to a papsmear. It's pretty quick and painless. Then on to bedrest for 24-48 hours depending on your doctor's reccomendation. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-50209616666175153172013-03-19T20:00:00.000-07:002013-04-02T12:12:28.031-07:00Telestration Tuesday - Chapter 3: How Do I Dontate MY Reamaining Embryos?<a href="http://bit.ly/15Y3Bki" target="_blank"><img alt="Video 3: How DO I Donate MY Remaining Embryos?" height="284" src="http://www.embryoadoption.org/images/videos/CHAPTER_3_HOW_TO_DONATE.jpg" title="Deciding to donate your embryos is making the decision to give the gift of life to another family. You can choose who will receive your embryos - they may be a family who has experienced circumstances very similar to your own." vspace="10" width="400" /></a><br />
Credit: Embryo Adoption Awareness CenterUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-27162940829027110242013-03-12T08:00:00.000-07:002013-04-02T12:13:19.974-07:00Telestration Tuesday - Chapter 2: I Have Remaining Embryos...Help!<a href="http://bit.ly/13SdoKs" target="_blank"><img alt="Video 2: : I Have Remaining Embryos... Help!" height="284" src="http://www.embryoadoption.org/images/videos/CHAPTER_2_REMAINING_EMBRYOS.jpg" title="When you have completed your family using IVF you may have remaining embryos in frozen storage. Perhaps the annual cost for storage is becoming a burden. What are your options? Your embryos were created with the intent to give them life. You still have the opportunity to do so." vspace="10" width="400" /></a><br />
Credit: Embryo Adoption Awareness Center<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-30332846120468529702013-03-05T08:00:00.000-08:002013-04-02T12:07:26.611-07:00Telestration Tuesday - Chapter 1: I'm Infertile, Now What?<a href="http://www.embryoadoption.org/videos/process-of-embryo-donation-adoption.cfm" target="_blank"><img alt="Video 1: I'm Infertile! Now What?" height="284" src="http://www.embryoadoption.org/images/videos/CHAPTER_1_IM_INFERTILE.jpg" title="You or your partner may have recently being diagnosed with infertility. Has your doctor explained ALL of your potential solutions? IVF isn't the answer for everyone. Investigate embryo adoption. It is a proven and successful choice for many families yearning for a newborn baby." vspace="10" width="400" /></a><br />
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Credit: Embryoadoption.org</h2>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828995837591754540.post-26700562206615272322013-01-23T12:22:00.003-08:002014-04-22T17:47:34.218-07:00How much does it cost?Adopting frozen embryos and then having them implanted must cost a FORTUNE, right? Wrong! It can actually cost less than a traditional adoption. While most domestic and international adoptions cost upwards of $20,000 - an embryo adoption and FET (frozen embryo transfer) can be as little as $3,000. Here is the breakdown of expenses you can expect to incur:<br />
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<strong>Legal Fees:</strong> A standard legal contract and processing typically runs around $500.<br />
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<strong>Transportation: </strong>The shipment of the embryos to your clinic usually costs $400-500.<br />
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<strong>Medical Expenses:</strong> $2,500. Depending on the clinic, most doctors charge an estimated flat fee of $1,000 which includes all appointments, sonograms, and the frozen embryo transfer (FET). There is usually an additional fee of $1,500 to use the labortory, embryologist, and facilities for the Embryo Transfer.<br />
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<strong>Medication:</strong> Depending on the medication that your doctor chooses to prescribe and your insurance coverage, your cost here can greatly vary. Typically you are prescribed Estradiol (a pill) to be taken for two weeks prior to the transfer, and progesterone (a pill, suppository, or shot) to be taken for a few weeks after the transfer. Typically, these are pretty inexpensive fertility drugs.<br />
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<strong>Embryos: </strong>While it is illegal for anyone to sell their embryos, it can cost $0-10,000 for you to locate your embryos depending on the method you use. If you use a website to locate a family with extra embryos, there is little to no charge. If you use an agency to find embryos, it can cost $10,000 to be matched with a donor family.<br />
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My story: we didn't have the funds to go through an agency so we located a family on our own using a <a href="http://www.nrfa.org/" target="_blank">website</a>. Our adoption of 4 embryos cost $3,200 and took about 2 months to complete.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0