Parents, Not the Government, Should Make IVF Decisions

Published

2 months ago

February 29, 2024

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The sorry history of anti-miscegenation and forced sterilization laws in the U.S. provides ample evidence that preemptive government interference in the reproductive decisions of its citizens should be strongly rejected. In a free society, the default should be that individuals are best situated for weighing the costs and benefits, moral and material, with respect to how, when, with whom, and whether they choose to become parents.

The now infamous Alabama Supreme Court decision earlier this month essentially outlawing the use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) by would-be parents highlights the consequences of unwarranted government meddling in reproductive decisions all too well. At its most basic, IVF is a treatment for infertility involving the fertilization of eggs in a petri dish with the goal of installing them afterward in a woman’s womb where they have a chance to implant and hopefully develop into a healthy baby. Since the implantation of any specific embryo is far from guaranteed, IVF often involves creating several embryos that are stored in liquid nitrogen that could be made available for later attempts at achieving pregnancy.

Some 12 to 15 percent of couples in the U.S. experience infertility. Fortunately, since 1981 many infertile folks have been able to avail themselves of IVF and assisted reproduction techniques with the result that more than 1.2 million Americans have been born using it. Currently, about 2 percent of all babies in the U.S. are born through assisted reproduction. A 2023 Pew Research poll reported that “four-in-ten adults (42%) say they have used fertility treatments or personally know someone who has.” Given the wide public acceptance and ubiquity of IVF, it is no surprise that a new Axios/Ipsos poll finds that two-thirds of Americans oppose the Alabama court ruling that frozen IVF embryos are the equivalent of born children.

The moral intuition that embryos are not people implied by these poll results reflects what research has revealed about the fraught and complex biology of uterine implantation and pregnancy. In both IVF and natural conception most embryos will not become babies. Research estimates that between 50 to 70 percent of naturally conceived embryos do not make it past the first trimester. In other words, one foreseen consequence of conception through sexual intercourse is the likely loss of numerous embryos.

In his 2012 Journal of Medical Ethics article, University of Illinois Chicago philosopher Timothy Murphy argued that the moral good of the birth of a child counterbalances the unwanted but nevertheless foreseen loss of other embryos in both natural and IVF conception. Again, polling suggests that most Americans endorse this moral reasoning.

In another 2012 article speculating on the metaphysical ramifications of endowing embryos with souls, Murphy basically recapitulates the line of reasoning in my 2004 article asking, “Is Heaven Populated Chiefly with the Souls of Embryos?” There I suggest that “perhaps 40 percent of all the residents of Heaven were never born, never developed brains, and never had thoughts, emotions, experiences, hopes, dreams, or desires.”

Murphy similarly concludes, “Since more human zygotes and embryos are lost than survive to birth, conferral of personhood on them would meanfor those believing in personal immortalitythat these persons constitute the majority of people living immortally despite having had only the shortest of earthly lives.”

Metaphysical conjectures aside, former President Donald Trump clearly knows where most Americans stand on IVF. “We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder! That includes supporting the availability of fertility treatments like IVF in every State in America,” he posted on Truth Social. He’s right.

Now, the 124 denizens of the House of Representatives (all Republicans) who cosponsored just over a month ago the Life at Conception Act are scrambling to explain that, no, they did not really mean that every frozen IVF embryo is a “human person” entitled to the equal protection of the right to life. As a butt-covering move, Rep. Nancy Mace (RS.C.) is circulating a House resolution “expressing support for continued access to fertility care and assisted reproduction technology, such as in vitro fertilization.”

More substantially, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (DIll.) is pushing for the adoption of the Right to Build Families Act that states, “No State, or official or employee of a State acting in the scope of such appointment or employment, may prohibit or unreasonably limit…any individual from accessing assisted reproductive technology.”

UK

More human remains found in two locations as part of Salford torso inquiry

Published

5 hours ago

April 28, 2024

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More human remains found in two locations as part of Salford torso inquiry

More human remains have been found in two locations as part of an investigation that started when a man’s torso was discovered in Salford.

Police believe the torso belongs to a man in his 60s and have informed his family about his death, but have not yet identified him publicly.

In a news conference today, officers revealed the victim is believed to have known two men who are currently in custody. They are believed to have lived together.

Detective Superintendent Lewis Hughes said they were looking at four crime scenes in Salford and the Greater Manchester area.

The human remains discovered over the last two days were found at Salford’s Blackleach Reservoir and Linnyshaw Colliery Wood.

Officers had already identified the two scenes before the remains were found and were “on route to the Colliery Wood” when a member of the public called to say they had found a package, said Det Supt Hughes.

Police officers found the other remains at the reservoir today while searching the area.

“We are very confident it is the same victim,” Det Supt Hughes added.

The victim is believed to have died in late March.

Police are searching a warehouse in Bury where “items were stored after this incident without the knowledge of occupants of that warehouse,” said Det Supt Hughes.

They’re also searching a house in Winton where the victim “was believed to have lived with the two men in custody”.

The first remains – consisting of the bottom of the back, buttocks and thigh – were found in clear plastic by a passer-by at Kersal Dale Wetlands in Salford, Greater Manchester, on 4 April.

Two men, aged 42 and 68, from Salford, who are believed to be known to each other, were arrested on suspicion of murder on 25 April, GMP said, after officers trawled through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage.

The 42-year-old was arrested after officers stormed a bus in Eccles Old Road around midday, the force said.

The other man was later arrested at an address in Worsley Road.

A 20-year-old man previously arrested on suspicion of murder was later released on bail pending further inquiries.

“It is too soon to rule out [looking for other suspects] but we’re confident at this time that we have the right two suspects in custody,” said Det Supt Hughes.

Detectives are still appealing the public for any information related to the crime and want to hear from witnesses, including dog walkers, who were in the area between 6am and 6pm on the day a passer-by made the original grim discovery.

More than 100 officers searched the Kersal Dale area for 12 days looking for evidence, working with an underwater search team and dogs before lifting the crime scene on 17 April.

UK

Small boat migrant arrivals by late April at highest level ever

Published

6 hours ago

April 28, 2024

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Small boat migrant arrivals by late April at highest level ever

The number of migrants that have crossed the Channel in small boats during the first four months of the year is at its highest ever level.

Some 7,167 people have arrived on UK shores after travelling by small boat from the continent between 1 January to 27 April, with 902 entering just this past week

This compares to 5,745 for the same period last year. The previous record was 6,691 in 2022.

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The figures come after Rishi Sunak has staked much of his political future on getting the number of migrant boat crossings down.

On Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme he said migrants travelling to Ireland after arriving in the UK on small boats was a sign the Rwanda scheme was already working as a deterrent.

“People are worried about coming here and that demonstrates exactly what I’m saying,” he told Sky News.

“If people come to our country illegally, but know that they won’t be able to stay there, they are much less likely to come, and that’s why the Rwanda scheme is so important.”

However, the news that migrants are crossing from Northern Ireland into the Republic has sparked an outcry in the country, and prompted the government in Dublin to announce they are planning emergency legislation to send asylum seekers back to Britain.

More than 80% of recent arrivals in the republic came via the land border with Northern Ireland, Irish justice minister Helen McEntee told a parliamentary committee last week.

Stopping the boats was one of the government’s five priorities set out by the prime minister after he took office in 2023.

The latest figures have been seized upon by Labour, with shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock saying: “This is the blunt reality behind all of Rishi Sunak’s empty boasts: more people have arrived by small boats so far this year than ever before and more people are having to be rescued.

“What will it take for Rishi Sunak to wake up and realise that his plan is not working?

“We desperately need a Labour government in place to get a grip of this issue.

“Our plan would strengthen Britain’s border security, crush the smuggling gangs, clear the asylum backlog, end hotel use, and set up a new returns and enforcement unit so those with no right to be in the UK are swiftly returned.”

Earlier this week, the prime minister said the government would “begin the process of removing those identified for the first flight” to Rwanda.

Mr Sunak said that they had increased detention spaces to 2,200 and had 200 caseworkers “ready and waiting” to process asylum claims.

He added that 25 courtrooms and 150 judges had been provided to deal with any legal cases quickly.

Technology

How working for Big Tech lost ‘dream job’ status

Published

6 hours ago

April 28, 2024

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Despite blockbuster earnings from giants such as Alphabet and Microsoft, layoffs continue to ripple through the tech industry.

Layoffs.fyi, a platform monitoring job cuts in the tech sector, recorded more than 263,000 job losses in 2023 alone. As of April, there have been more than 75,000 job losses in the industry so far in 2024.

“So instead of rewarding the growth that we saw [tech companies] all pursue years ago, they’re now rewarding profit,” said Jeff Shulman, professor at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. “And so the layoffs have continued. People have become used to them. Regrettably and sadly, it seems that the layoffs are going to be the new normal.”

Even though mass tech layoffs continue, the labor market still seems strong. The U.S. economy added 303,000 jobs in March, well above the Dow Jones estimate for a rise of 200,000, with the unemployment rate edged lower to 3.8%.

According to Handshake, a popular free job posting site for college students and graduates, the tech layoffs have prompted new workers to seek other opportunities. The share of job applications from tech majors submitted to internet and software companies dropped by more than 30% between November 2021 and September 2023.

“Part of the reason why this is happening is because stability is such a major factor in students’ decisions around what types of jobs they apply to and what types of jobs they accept,” said Christine Cruzverga, chief education strategy officer at Handshake. “They’re looking at the headlines in the news and they’re paying attention to all of the layoffs that are happening in Big Tech, and that makes them feel unstable.”

Mass layoffs have eroded the shine of the tech industry, which is why workers are questioning whether getting a job in the tech industry should still be regarded as a “dream job.”

“For the people who are chasing … a tech dream job, I think keep your options open and be realistic,” said Eric Tolotti, senior partner engineer at Snowflake, who got laid off from Microsoft in 2023. “Don’t just focus on one company and feel like you have to get into that one company because it’s the dream.”

Watch the video to learn about tech workers’ sentiments, considerations for aspiring Big Tech employees, and more.