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HONG KONG, July 19, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A leading fertility clinic in Hong Kong revealed this week that they aborted two embryonic children after clinicians had implanted them in the wrong woman.

The Victory A.R.T. Laboratory realized the mix-up quickly and, according to the BBC, then had the embryos “taken out and discarded.”

The Hong Kong Council on Human Reproductive Technology has ruled that the mix-up was due to human error rather than systemic failings, and will not take any action.  The council’s report indicated that a junior embryologist had failed to check the labels.

The mistake has other patrons of the facility up in arms, says the BBC, with one even saying she is considering having a DNA test done after her child is born.

The process of IVF has been heavily criticized by pro-life advocates, in large part because while in each round numerous children are conceived to improve the chances of implantation, those remaining unused are simply “discarded” or frozen.  A 2008 UK government report showed that IVF clinics in that country have intentionally killed over one million human embryos.

Critics also warn that the procedure reduces the newly-formed human life to the status of a commodity, and argue that the child is meant to be conceived through the mutual love of husband and wife in the conjugal act.

Additionally, research has shown that babies born from IVF have a much higher chance of birth defects, including heart valve defects, cleft lip and palate, and digestive system abnormalities.  In 2009, the British government’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority warned that IVF babies have a 30% higher risk of genetic abnormality.