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 P 0 BO* JIM HXalNt 0«f GO** '*'40 I he Oregon Dmty Cmttrtkl it published daily Monday through f nday during the school year and luaaday and Thursday during the summer by the Oregon Daily Emerad Thom Editorial Editor Jet! Prckhardt OrapMcs Editor Jett 1‘aslay Photo Editor Anthony Forney Freelance Editor Jell Winters Supplements Editor tCaty Solo Night Editor: CaUey Anderson Associate Editors Edward Kioplenstern. Student Government Aetrvrtree Rebecca Marrm Community, Juhe Swensen taghov f dUcahon Adm.n/Siraton News Start: Mindy Baucum Wrfson Chan. Date Chartronneau Jm Dams. Meg Oedolph Amy Devenport. Cara Echevarria. Mass f raids. Martm Fisher Sarah Mendarson Mealharie Fkmes. Ym Lang leong. Manus Meland. Trtsta Noel Elisabeth Reanst)erna. Kate Sabourm. Robb* Reeves l« Saloaua. Scolt Simonson. Stephanie Sisson Susanne Sleltens. Jt*e Svrensen. Mchete Thompson Aguiar. Kavtn Tnpp. Amy Van Tuyt. Darnel West QpiMfil lljfliOtf Judy Mtod Advertising Director Mark Waite- Production Manager Mcheie Ross Advertising Subrr Dutta. Nicola tterrmark. Teresa IsaheHe. Jen Melon Jeremy Mason Michael MrHotte Van V CT Bryan it Rachael Tru». Kersey Waken Angie WmrPtwm CtaaaMted: Becky Merchant Manager Victor Maya. Sms Tit Tack Dlllrtbutton Andy Harvey. John Long. Graham Simpson Business: Kathy Carbona. Superuser Judy ConnoOy Production: Dee McCobb. Product on Coordmoior Shawns Abeie Greg Desmond. Tara Gauttney. Brad Joss, Janr»l*r Roland. Nat! Thangnyt. Clayton Yae Newaroom __mill Display Advertising..NM7I! Business Ortlca.Mt-UI2 Cteaeitled Advertising-ME-4943 rr^r, V\**MTTO P»CTUB«$ O MV X _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.