Gattaca Essay

Question: What happens to the unused/ unsaved embryos in in-vitro fertilization? Is that right? What is the difference between that and abortion?

Firstly in-vitro fertilization is where eggs are fertilized with a sperm in a lab this happens when fertilization is unsuccessful in women so assistance is required. Once the zygote turns into an embryo then the couple who the embryo belongs to gets to decide whether to have it implanted, get rid of it, or put it on hold. When the embryo is implanted in the mother it goes on like any embryo would and she gives birth to it a couple months later, but the real question is how do you put life on hold? Couples who are not sure whether to keep the future child or not have an option and that is whether or not to have the lab freeze the embryo. The embryos can be frozen for years at a time and if this is the case then the embryos are costly to save. If the couple does not want to keep the embryo then they have the choice to donate it or have it be terminated.

In GATTACCA during in-vitro fertilization the eggs and sperm are combined to make the best offsprings. From there the couples choose the embryos they want, and the rest of them are terminated. I’m not sure if unused embryos in GATTACA can be donated or preserved so I’m assuming the unused embryos are just gotten rid of.

I believe there is nothing wrong with this. It is completely the parents choice in what to do with the embryo. When the embryo isn’t used it can be saved, but some people don’t have the money to save it so it has to be discarded from the laboratory it has been frozen in. When laboratories get rid of the developing child officials have to either kill it or ask for permission to donate it to another family that has fertility issues and needs assistance. Donating can cause some families emotional problems because they are not comfortable with the idea that they have another child much less that child going to someone else. So in-vitro fertilization is morally right because it gives couples another shot at having children, and the means of taking care of the future offspring are morally right as well because they have valid reasons to back them up.

Disposing of the embryo in in-vitro fertilization is nothing like an abortion. An embryo in abortion is attached to a female and is inside them. If this female can’t take care of her child in the future or currently she must make the painful decision with or without a partner to get it aborted. In in-vitro fertilization the embryos grow outside the womb and with abortions they are inside the expectant mother. If you had a living creature that was your child attached to you for nine months you would get attached to it and it would have an emotional significance in your life. Those feelings are much like those you would develop for a loving house pet except stronger and more fierce. So when one gets an abortion it’s much more stressful and emotional. When the embryo is being developed in a lab the bonding between mother and child does not get to develop. Hence the in-vitro termination is not the same as an abortion.

For me I could not go through with an abortion or getting rid of frozen embryos and I’m sure most people feel the same way. But when financial issues occur and someone is not able to raise a child or keep their embryos frozen they have to part from them. Hospital bills are quite costly and paying monthly or up to seventy five thousand dollars for the embryo can sometimes be unmanageable. But when you can’t pay there’s not much that can be done. I’m all for pro-choice and it should be completely up to the couple whether or not to keep it or have something else arranged.