When you think of forced parenthood, what comes to mind?
Likely, a woman who conceived in rape is the example you thought of.
But, thanks to the scary science of in vitro fertilization (IVF), you will need to add another instance of forced parenthood.
In Illinois a lawsuit has worked its way through the courts. Karla Dunston wants to give birth to a biological child so badly, she is suing her ex-boyfriend for her supposed “right” to birth a child. Her ex-boyfriend, and biological father of their embryonic children, Jacob Szafranski is defending his rights not to become a father against his will.
HERE’S THE BACKGROUND
In 2010 Dunston and Szafranski began dating. A few months later she was diagnosed with cancer. She was told the treatment for her lymphoma would likely result in her becoming infertile.
Panicked at the prospect of losing her fertility, she did what any irrational, selfish woman would do. She convinced her then-boyfriend, Szafranski to allow embryos to be created from their gametes (sperm and eggs).
They then agreed to let their biological children to be “put on ice” in a cryopreservant. This means, after clinicians caused their conception, the children were suspended in an antifreeze-like solution and stored away indefinitely.
Not surprisingly, Dunston and Szafranski’s relation did not last.
After their break up, Dunston tried to have their embryos implanted inside her womb. Szafranski, not wanting to take on fatherhood, objected.
Szafranski and his legal team point to a document both parties signed when their children were manufactured in the laboratory. The form states both Dunston AND Szafranski must agree to the implantation inside Dunston, before it can be done.
Dunston claims her “right” to becoming a biological parent trumps Szafranski’s objection to forced parenthood.
In round one of the legal battle, the Cook County Court ruled in Dunston’s favor, believe it or not.
On December 3, 2014, the next court, the appellate court heard oral arguments from both sides. The case is expected to end up in the Illinois state supreme court.
THIS SITUATION EXEMPLIFIES THE NIGHTMARE THAT IVF IS
The moral ramifications of IVF are far reaching. Let’s break down just a few of the glaring problems with Dunston and Szafranski’s situation.
Hello, There Are Real-Life Children at Stake
Notice what is not being said in this debate over so-called forced parenthood.
The tiny children are the forgotten portion of this equation. Their rights are being ignored.
The only rights being called for are the “right” to be a parent or the “right” not to be a parent.
In reality, no one is owed parenthood.
A woman wants to become a parent, so she just pays money and borrows a man’s sperm, and bam! Just like that, she gets to try to become a mother, apparently.
No need for God.
Notice also that Karla Dunston and Jacob Szafranski seem to pretend as if they are not already parents. The fact is, they are.
They paid some lab clinicians to manufacture for them human beings from their gametes—three, in total. These are their biological children, already created.
These are human beings because they came from human parents and they were growing. Well, they were growing, until their lives were suspended.
What does this say to these children? Assuming one day they are born.
“Sorry, kids, your dad didn’t love you enough to want you around.”
“Your mom wanted you so badly, she didn’t care if you grew up without your biological father—or maybe any father—in the home.”
What Are the Chances Each of Their Children Will Survive to Birth? Maybe as Low as 5%!
You read that right.
An embryo stands a 46% chance of not surviving the freezing and thawing process. That is why three embryos were created. These children were factory-made in quantity to increase the possibility at least one of them survives long enough to be birthed by their mother.
This is what we have reduced ourselves to as humankind. Through IVF, children are mass produced, treated as commodities to serve the desires of adults.
So where does the 5% stat come from?
Well, assuming a baby survives the thawing process and then implantation into a womb (and not even necessarily into his or her biological mother), just five percent to 20 percent of babies survive all the way to birth.
This process of causing so many babies to face this fate is commonplace these days. As it stands, perhaps an upward of a million babies are left “on ice” today at IVF clinics.
Is it worth creating so many human lives, just to watch them die?
Had Dunston and Szafranski Been Married, It Would Still Makes IVF Immoral
Some people might counter saying the circumstances for Dunston and Szafranski are to blame here, not IVF itself. They might concede creating embryos out of wedlock should not be done, but that does not mean it’s wrong for married couples to do.
After all, roughly 15% of all couples face problems conceiving.
Although infertility remains a difficult cross to bear, the Catholic Church holds firm to the truth that IVF is not the solution.
Children have the right to come from the loving, conjugal act of their parents. They should not be subjected to the intervention of a third party to cause their conception or implantation.
Children also have the right to know their mother and their father. Often, IVF-conceived children do not have this basic right recognized, causing identity problems and angst.
If babies and sex do not go together, what need is there for the role of parents or children to be recognized in society?
For that matter then, why should governments bother identifying one’s parents? What other relationships go by the wayside, if parent-child ones are so easy to dismiss? Pretty soon, our culture becomes unrecognizable, not to mention unsustainable.
IN CLOSING
We shall see where Dunston and Szafranski’s case ends up. Does Dunston win the “right” to implant her babies to see how many survive? Or does Szafranski prevail in his legal battle to avoid so-called forced parenthood?
YOUR TURN
What are your thoughts on this strange case of Karla Dunston and Jacob Szafranski?
Does the scary science of IVF frighten you as well as it should?
Please share a comment below.
