A DOZEN EGGS FOR $120,000? THAT IS NO YOKE!
New York has become the first state to permit researchers to pay women up to $10,000 for the “expenses, time, burden and discomfort” of donating their eggs for stem cell research.
The Empire State Stem Cell Board (the Board) quietly voted on June 11th to allow funding for egg donation, but no one seemed to notice the story until the Washington Post broke it this week. The Board has $600 million in state funding for stem cell research. That will buy a lot of eggs!
The Board issued a statement that read, “On June 11, 2009, the Empire State Stem Cell Board (the “Board”) voted to allow funding of research on stem cell lines derived using eggs (called “oocytes”) donated solely for research purposes where the donor was, or will be, compensated for the expense, time, burden and discomfort associated with the donation process -- within specified limits -- as is currently permitted when women donate oocytes for reproductive purposes in New York State. The Board’s decision followed extensive deliberation that included consideration of the great potential of stem cell research, national and international ethical standards, and mechanisms to safeguard the rights and welfare of oocyte donors. The Board agreed that it is ethical and appropriate for women donating oocytes for research purposes to be compensated in the same manner as women who donate oocytes for reproductive purposes and for such payments to be reimbursable as an allowable expense under NYSTEM contracts.”
I guess the reason the media did not realize what was going on because The Board spoke of oocytes and who has that word on their Google alerts?
A woman cannot just show up and drop off her basket of eggs and pick up a $10,000 check. The Board did acknowledge that the high payments could unduly influence women to donate but the Board has “previously instituted by contract a number of important safeguards, including requiring full disclosure of all physical and psychological risks associated with oocyte donation, directing that informed consent be obtained through a dynamic process focused on the donor’s comprehension of the information provided, and mandating availability of psychological counseling prior to donation."
Men can donate their sperm with little or no psychological counseling, but it is quite easy for a man to perform the actions necessary to fill up a cup with their swimmers; the procedure is not so simple for women and eggs.
An unfertilized egg is not a potential human being, so while I am Pro Life, I feel no ethical dilemma in this situation. I would donate in a minute to help scientific research, but unfortunately my eggs are already scrambled.
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Blog Follower HON wrote:
ReplyDeleteSo, the embryonic stem cell research crowd, is literally buying the parts to make a human that they absolutely will kill. The scientific community, elected officials and the bureaucrats enabling them have found a way around the "ethical" dilemma (ethical in quotes because they see no such problems that many others do). The reasoning must go like this: We made it, we can kill it. Kinda Godlike, don't ya think?
Also, the abortion supporters promised with the highest incredulity that there would NEVER be a market for human material for research. Why buy it when there are a more than ample number of embryos being destroyed each day and there are more than enough opportunities to get them? I'll tell you why, the genetic material is less than perfect, that's why.
The reaseach is not desireable on "extra" or "unwanted" genetic material already out there. Thus, the genetically "preferred" people on earth have to be induced to donate. The genetically "superior" members of our happy society have a tendency to be more successful and less likely to go through the bother of donating unless the fee was really tempting. If NY was interested in just any genetic material, the poor or unemployed or countless others would gladly line-up for a tiny fraction of that price. But NY state wants only the physically, mentally and emotionally - read, genetically - perfect.
Now we see that the abortion supporters were wrong (or lied) and there is a lucatrive market for genetic material. Lucatrive because apparently NY state is only interested in master-race genetic material.
Clearly, cloning, volitional genetic selection and the utter cheapining of human life (if you can call 10K cheap) is not years away - it is here. Soon we will be classified by genetically acceptable and not. The far reaching practical impact on this is both precictable and horrifying.
Am I the only disturbed by the direction that this is going?
I don't think I have any eggs left anyway, so I couldn't get in on the deal if I wanted to.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Mandel