IVF Is, Always Has Been, and Always Will Be a Really Stupid Idea

Although I'm not inclined to optimism, I am inclined to hope. (Being Catholic, it comes with the territory.)

One small part of my hope is that years from now, when we're all dead and gone, history will look back on in-vitro fertilization and consign it to its rightful place on The List of Really Stupid Ideas. (Conversely, it is also part of my hope that history will look at NaPro Technology and give it a rightful place on The List of Ideas That Were Way Ahead of Their Time.)

This morning, I read this article, which starts off thusly:

Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, widely touted as a way to help older women undergoing in vitro fertilization achieve a higher birthrate, actually reduces births by one-third, Dutch researchers reported Wednesday.

This provides further proof that Mark Shea was really onto something when he came up with his Two Phases of History meme:


1. What could it hurt?

2. How could we have known?


Imagine if the rapacious hucksters who provide IVF had to be brutally honest about this "procedure". Their sales pitch might sound something like this:

Give us thousands of dollars and you may -- or, more likely, may not -- get pregnant! And, assuming you do get pregnant, we'll end up killing several of your children that we've helped you produce in a most unnatural and grossly immoral manner. And as for the rest? We'll put them in cold storage and keep them there for a uterus-to-be-implanted-in-later!