Does Life Begin At Conception?

Posted by Joanna Karpasea-Jones Dec 8, 2008

When I was an egg donor my fertility specialist talked me through all the options I had with regard to any frozen embryos that might be created with my eggs. Although I was not the recipient parent I still had to sign consent for my eggs to be used after they were retrieved.

One thing I found both abhorant and morally confusing was the testing of any embryo for medical research. To me an embryo even in the initial stages has its whole a DNA structure and genetic blueprint. Whether it will be a boy or a girl, what colour eyes it has and how tall it will be. Even some personality traits come from the genes so to take something with so much potiential and test on it in medical experiments seems wrong. However - research could possibly prevent miscarriages in the future and might save babies so it is hard to know what's right or wrong.

It's one argument that I don't know the answer to.

When it came to my body though I refused to allow any egg or embryo to be tested on or discarded in less than 10 years and my doctor told me this was my right.

When I attended the egg donation counselling session prior to my surgery my counsellor contradicted the doctor and told me I could not withhold consent for my eggs to be used in testing. In fact there were many areas in which she told me something different to the doctor. I found the counselling both poor quality and confusing. After the retrival they ticked the consent box for medical research without asking me. I felt angry and at odds with my morals. Luckily for me all the eggs were used in IVF cycles for two women so there were none spare.

I would very much welcome standard guidelines to be put in place for the counselling process and the practice of freezing embryos or testing upon them. They are very much needed in this ethical minefield.