The use of egg donations and embryo storage, which in term could compromise access to in vitro fertilization. Other states are considering similar measures. This is a troubling development for many: couples with fertility issues, single mothers, and same-sex partners.
Conservatives in the state are trying to get eggs and embryos labeled as “persons”, an attempt that is related to the anti-abortion agenda. Fortunately, sperm donation should not become an issue with this legislation. The bills require informed consents for egg donation and embryo storage, and changes in egg donor compensation. The debate centers on whether or not ego donation should be a viable treatment option for Arizonians. The Arizona Medical Association does not support the bill. Several moms and their children from egg donations have been vocal on the assembly floor about their opposition to the bill, but no medical professionals active in basic research or embryology have been present to discuss opposition.
Here is what the The National Infertility Institute says about this bill (you can read more directly at http://www.resolve.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ta_stleg_home):
“SB 1306/HB 2651 discourages egg donor therapy by outlawing the compensation traditionally provided to those who donate eggs for infertile couples. All this does is under-compensate valuable medical donors and discourage them from helping people who want to have a baby. Arizona would be the first state in the United States to deny egg donors appropriate compensation.
Egg donation therapy is the standard of care for many couples - including young women who have undergone lifesaving cancer treatment and women facing the heartbreak of premature ovarian failure. We strongly object to the Arizona legislature in effect telling a young cancer survivor that she now needs to plan the additional expense of traveling for infertility treatment because there are no donors in Arizona to offer the treatment that will give her the chance of having a child.
When the United Kingdom removed compensation from egg and sperm donation in 2004, the number of donors dropped drastically. Instead of waiting years for one of the rare donors, couples turned to medical tourism, leaving the country for their medical treatment. Couples in Arizona will likely follow the same path, leaving for other states — if they can afford the time and expense. If not, their dreams of a family will end.
Furthermore, SB 1306/HB 2651 is designed to discourage doctors from providing donor egg treatment by imposing a raft of new informed consent requirements coupled with harsh penalties - loss of medical license - if a doctor does not follow the new rules to the letter. The informed consent rules themselves contain inaccurate and purposefully scary language that would, again, discourage even the most compassionate women from donating eggs.
Women who choose to donate their eggs so that other families may have the chance of having a child, do so voluntarily. Studies have shown that many of these women are familiar with infertility from watching a family member or friend go through this devastating disease. ASRM guidelines provide that egg donors undergo careful screening, and they receive excellent medical care by the same reproductive endocrinologists who treat the hopeful parents. Like all doctors, infertility specialists provide patients, including egg donors, with appropriate information for informed consent. SB 1306/HB 2651, with its scary additional language, clearly has an agenda to discourage treatment via egg donation, heedless of the harm this could do to infertility patients who need the treatment.”
Tags: age 35, american babies, Arizona, cyst, egg donor, Embryo Storage, fertility education, fertility options ovarian tissue, genetics, Insemination, invitro fertilization, ovarian, SB 1306/HB 2651, Sperm Bank, sperm bank, therapy, tubal blockages
0 Responses to “Arizona May Limit the Use of Egg Donation and Embryo Storage”