The Michigan House passed the Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy Parentage Act, HBs 5207-5215, on Nov. 9, 2023. These bills seek to legalize surrogacy, which is still a misdemeanor in Michigan, and establish parentage rights for children born through reproductive technologies.
Proponents of these bills argue that children will no longer be vulnerable, as no intended parents will be “forced” to go out of state to pursue surrogacy anymore, nor will they have to go through the process of adopting their surrogate-born child. In actuality, it is the IVF and surrogacy processes themselves that leave children the most vulnerable. The frustration that comes from being “forced” to go out of state or adopt a child from a woman who has been used as one’s personal incubator (since women who gestate children are, in reality, their mothers), does not actually stem from the desire to relieve vulnerability from children, but rather, the desire to achieve parenthood no matter the cost to children.
Reproductive technologies such as IVF and surrogacy inherently contain within them the commodification and destruction of embryonic human beings and deny children the natural right to their mothers and fathers.
Preimplantation Screenings
Blastocysts (early embryos) are often chosen for transfer based on their likelihood of implantation in the womb by a screening process, Preimplantation Genetic Screening, that picks the “best” embryos to implant. They not only determine the likelihood of implantation success or miscarriage, but also screen for potential birth defects and chromosomal abnormalities such as down syndrome.
Embryos
