Politics
Monday January 31, 2005
IVF Babies up to 40% More Likely to Suffer Severe Birth Defects
TODAY'S HEADLINES
E-MAIL
PRINT
PERTH, January 31, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Reports are growing that in vitro fertilization, in which a human being is made in a laboratory by mixing ova and sperm in a petri dish, is resulting in a high rate of severe birth defects. In September 2003, LifeSiteNews.com reported that IVF was coming under scrutiny because of the risks involved to the child. A dozen scientific papers published in 2003 suggested health risks associated with IVF.
Now a new study can be added to the stack. Researchers at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Perth, Australia, have found that babies born through IVF are up to 40% more likely to suffer from birth defects. From relatively minor problems like cleft palate to severe ones such as spina bifida, more IVF children are showing that IVF is a solution that often creates more trouble than it solves.
In many cases, the solution to such birth defects is abortion following prenatal diagnosis.
Researcher Michelle Hansen said that it is not certain what causes the defects but that they could be caused by the procedure itself. “We don't know why yet, because it's very difficult to tease out the fact they come in with an underlying cause of infertility anyway,” Hansen told The Australian.
“Other causes could be something to do with the treatment itself, the way the egg, sperm or embryo are manipulated, or the medications that are given to induce ovulation or to sustain pregnancy.”
One procedure, which is legal in Canada, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, in which a sperm is selected and forced into the ovum with a needle, has come under particular criticism.
Dr. Hansen said, “This paper will make it even more accepted that (IVF clinic staff) really need to provide this information so patients are giving informed consent when they undertake such treatment.”
The study will be published in the journal Human Reproduction next month.
Related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/nov/02111803.html
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/sep/03092206.html
hw
Back to TopLatest Headlines
- BREAKING: US Congress Passes Health Care Reform Bill 220 to 215
- Stupak Amendment to Health Care Bill Passes 240 - 194 Saturday Evening
- Major Health Care Development - Pro-Life Stupak Amendment Vote OK'd for Today
- NY Times: Dems Banking on Later Squeezing Pro-Life Language Out of Bill in Committee
- USCCB Spokesman: "Definitely Not True" that Bishops Support Bill As it Stands
- TIME Got it Wrong - Prof. George Opposed Grandiose Kennedy Funeral
- USCCB Condemnation Tears Facade off "Phony" Abortion Compromise for Health Bill
- Health Care Bill Includes Monthly Abortion Premium: House Minority Leader Boehner
- TIME Article Setting Burke Against O'Malley Called "Tactical strike" on Behalf of Catholic Left
- Dirty Fighting on Abortion Funding: Word-Games and Health-Care Theatrics Boggle the Mind
- Commentary on November 6 News
- Note to LifeSiteNews Subscribers with Rogers email addresses
- New York Gov. Declares Nov. 10 Extraordinary Legislative Session for Same-Sex "Marriage"
- Washington's Pro-Family Amendment Effort Defeated - R-71 Almost Certain to Pass
- Vote Pushed Back on Canadian Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Bill to Dec. 2
- Elderly U.K. Couple in Good Health Commit Suicide, Complain of Assisted Suicide Law
- Texas Late-Term Abortionist and Baptist Minister Admits: "Am I killing? Yes, I am"
- New Evidence Contradicts CCHD's Findings on Accused Pro-Abortion Partner
- Quebec Priest Denies Possibility of Sexual Reorientation Therapy on TV
- New Hampshire Same-Sex "Marriage" Law in Crosshairs after Maine's Law Crumbles
- Brooklyn Bishop Criticized for Recorded Message Praising Pro-Abortion Politician
- First Group of "Traditionalist" Anglicans in Britain Votes to Enter Catholic Church
Most Read this Week
- Planned Parenthood Director Resigns after Watching Ultrasound of Abortion Procedure
- Breaking: Dominican Community Apologizes for Nun Caught Acting as Abortion Escort
- Nun Defiant Following Rebuke, but Stops Abortion Escorting
- Over 200 Christendom College Students Protest Abortion at Planned Parenthood Clinic
- TIME Article Setting Burke Against O'Malley Called "Tactical strike" on Behalf of Catholics Left
- Scottish Gay Rights Activists Found Guilty of Pedophilia Sentenced to Life Imprisonment
- Newly Identified Corporate Supporters of Planned Parenthood Named
- Health Care Bill Includes Monthly Abortion Premium: House Minority Leader Boehner
- Major Health Care Bill Development - Stupak Hyde Amendment Vote OK'd
- Canadian MP Launches Petition to Stop Federal Funding of Planned Parenthood
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.