News That Stays News

Science and Morality, part II October 4, 2010

It’s always interesting to revisit old ethical debates that have apparently been resolved. One of the founders of In Vitro Fertilization won this year, and the safety concerns raised by ethicists at the time have been addressed. But it isn’t clear that the critics were wrong, all things considered. Does the existence of four million people justify the inadvertent abortions and failed embryo transfers at the beginning? Does a live birth rate of 27% make up for the fertilized embryos that die, or are set aside?