EDITORIAL
Technique offers
fertility to infertile
A technique recently pioneered provides the possibil
ity for eggs from aborted fetuses to bo artificially insem
inated and planted in an infertile woman.
Dr Roger Gosden of the Edinburgh Medical School
said the technique has had positive rosults with labors
tory rats, and he is sure that the method would work for
humans.
The new techniouo would take cues from an aborted
fetus, fertilize them with
sperm in a laboratory ami
implant the fertilized egg (
in an infertile woman.
As long as abortion is '
deemed legal, then the 1
fetuses, some of which are
already used for medical
research, should maintain
the capacity to provide <
eggs for artificial insemlna- |
lion. For frustrated parents
suffering with the con- 1
straints of infertility, this i
could very well be tire (
answer.
it seems a bit strange, I
however, to create a life ,
from one that has previous
ly boon discarded. There
are many ethical issues
As long as
abortion is
deemed legal,
then the fetuses,
some of which
are already used
for medical
research, should
maintain the
capacity to
orovide eggs for
artificial
insemination.
mat will ODVIOUMV uttvtMUj) iiuui mu UUW umjiuhjuu.
Sonin, imu h !ik<- tin? argument on abortion, will never Ik*
resolved.
One point that has already been mentioned is con
cerned with n woman's aborted fetus. For example, what
would happen if a woman decided she had a right to her
fetus's fertilized egg in another woman's body? Obvi
ously the matter of consent, if deemed necessary’, would
1h? left in the hands of the mother aborting her fetus. This
complicates matters and hinges on the question of at
what point does an egg carry’ the title of life, prior to fer
tilization or after? This is one possibility that would ide
ally be resolved before the technique is made available.
The idea of creating life from an aborted fetus is some
what unsettling, but if the eggs were donated from a
woman who has given consent yet suffered an unfortu
nate death, then the idea is more easily acceptable. If we
are already offering organs from the deceased to people
in need of further extending their lives, then certainly,
offering the eggs of the willing and deceased would seem
a refreshing possibility for infertile women with the
desire to have children.
Creating infants front the eggs of females who have
never been born will obviously create much controver
sy. Beyond the controversy involved, tho idea of pro
ducing test-tube babies from eggs donated by an unborn
fetus is a dynamic alternative for tho frustrated infertile
women desiring children.
However, it may be a bit of a challenge to explain the
birds and tho bees when the question arises.
Oregon Daily
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_C*N 'OU WWT
OPINION
Mr. So CaMs no “prize catch”
Ua Sakircia
Personal ads are funny
Especially when someone
presents him or herself as
a good catch, and ends up
smelling fishy, A good example
can be found in ibis paper The
ad:
llandsomr. blue-eyed blonde.
So. Cal. Hus. Man. 42, lives at
the beach, Spartan body, highly
educated, successful, interna
tional travel, sophisticated but
wild, loves: rock n roll, to
dance, good friends, adventure,
quality things and i ompanion
ship. no children Seeks blonde,
blue-eyed, college educ. (OR.
WA. CA) woman 23-30. no chil
dren. never married, beautiful
inside/out, enjoys life, adven
ture, travel, education, people,
the beach, sports, tlte water,
commitment, that wants a career
and a family with someone
capable of committing. No bag
gage. no fat chic ks Send recent
photo....
Ha-ha.
After a call to Becky Merchant
in Classifieds, i found out that
our ad rate is $1.70 a line. Since
his ad is 12 lines, that means
he's paying about 30 bucks a day
for it. Money well spent if he
gets the girl. I guess.
I sure nope he doesn't, l-adies
tie ware. It's not a mate or a lover
or a kindred spirit he's after, he
wants a trophy.
"Oh. the no fat chicks' guy?”
said Becky when I asked her
about him. "Seems to me he's
just a vain dude looking for
some vain chick so he can have
blonde, blue-eyed babies with
her.”
So if that’s all he is. why am I
using this time and space to rip
the guy apart? Am I just a bitter
brown haired, green-eyed, non
committal. smart-ass fat chick
with baggage that is secretly so
worked up by not being able to
meet his standards that I have to
write a nasty little commentary
on his mating ritual?
Who knows — I haven't been
to psychoanalysis lnti*l\ Hut
here we have just the kind of
smarmy fool that indicates how
plastic our culture can be.
Leaving nothing to chance.
Mr So Cal has indicated the
at ( uptabie traits of his dream
woman, including size, shape,
color, socioeconomic, status and
hobbies Not only is he unwill
ing to deal with emotional "bag
gage," he obviously has a low
tolerance for fat chicks He
wants her his way. and he's
willing to pay big hue ks for it
And the sad thing is. there; are
women who will go for it
"What a prize." they will say,
"Handsome, a businessman!
Sophisticated but wild! II1 meet
bis standards I could be caress
ing bis Spartan body and his
money in front of bis beach
house in no time."
No matter that he will shirk
away her emotional problems,
or "baggage" (unless he means
that he doesn't want his future
wdey to bring any luggage to the
beach house so he c an outfit her
in all new clothing) Who cares
that fie probably insulted at least
one woman she knows (it's hard
to go through life1 without know ■
mg any of those dreadful fat
chicks).
Where else but in a personal
ad un you mm; someone use the
most superficial medium ever to
find the most important person
in their life?
Mr. So Cal, (or Mr. So-Called,
as I like to think of him), jewel
that he may seem to lie. is really
a lug neon sign telling us what's
wrong with the dominant cul
ture's ideas and expectations
about women.
It’s the same worn-out box
that no matter how hard we
squeeze to get in, we will never
fit. It's the tired but ever-present
standard we see reflected in
countless media images and in
the delusionary babble of the
men and women who are trying
to make the box fit.
It says that the ideal woman is
blonde, blue-eyed, skinny, tall,
young, educated, cultured, who
stays faithful to the man who
won't love her as much if she
isn't all of those things.
And who is this So-Called
Handsome, Blue-eyed Blonde,
anyway? I'd wager that he's that
Ladies beware. It’s
not a mate or a
lover or a kindred
spirit he’s after, he
wants a trophy.
lech you meet in the bar who
bores you to tears while he
drones on for hours about his
money and his athletic prowess,
all the while stealing loving
glances at his own leathery tan
in the mirror The kind of guy
who has his secretary buy lin
gerie for his mistress. The kind
of guy who can't find a date in
California si) he pays big bucks
to run personal ads in college
newspapers in other states.
He's probably the type who
hauls his woman around town
on the same arm as his Rolex so
everyone can see his fine pos
sessions The fact that he isn't
asking for a letter indicating
signs of the culture and intelli
gence he demands front his
wench could be a good clue-in
to bis true nature
But rather than waste energy
hating him. let's trv to hug him a
little We can buy one of those
greeting cards featuring a 300
pound naked woman. We'll
explain in the letter. ”1 know all
you wanted was a photo, but 1
just wanted to explain that
besides being a Harvard gradu
ate, I'm a model, and this is
straight out of my portfolio. I
know I'm the one for you. I'm
not going to wait for your reply,
I'm packing my bags (and my
children) and hauling myself to
your Newport beach home, the
one with the address you left in
your lovely six-inch ad."
Bitching about people who
are only seeking perfection in a
lover won't change those peo
ple. A superficial person is like
ly to stay that way for a long
time. So until we can all mold
ourselves into the Barbies and
Kens that this culture demands,
it's up for the strong of heart to
also be the smart of mouth
And hope that Mr. So Cal gets
what he deserves.
Lia Salciccia is a columnist
for the Emerald.