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Email: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online Edition:
www.dailyemerald.com
Monday, April 28,2003
-Oregon Daily Emerald
COMMENTfVRY
Editor in Chief:
Michael J. Kleckner
Managing Editor
Jessica Richelderfer
Editorial Page Assistant:
Salena De La Cruz
The trials of egg donation
The ad in the Emerald caught
my eye last year — #2,500 to do
nate my eggs. My first thoughts
were, “Never, no way, you’ve got to
be kidding!” But then this year, as
I thought about it more, that
#2,500 was looking better and bet
ter. But to sell a piece of myself and
walk away; I just don’t know.
The process began in January,
when I called the Fertility Clinic to
ask for an information packet. My
first step was an orientation appoint
ment, sched
uled with the
coordinator of
the egg donor
program.
The coordi
nator explained
in detail what
the process en
tailed. First, I
would have to
be accepted
into the pro
gram. In order
to be accepted,
I would have to have enough eggs to
be harvested. I scheduled an appoint
ment for a probe to take pictures of
the follicles in the ovaries, which pro
duce the eggs. I had 25, which is ap
parently a healthy number.
I then had to meet with a genet
ics counselor to find out if my fami
ly had any uncommon diseases in
its history. Well, my uncle married
a woman who had dwarfism in her
bloodline and passed it to their chil
dren, but nothing else along my
family lines.
I thought the physical probing was
bad, but the mental probing was
worse. What would they ask next?
Well, then I met with a psychologist
to see if I was sane enough or strong
Salena
DeLaCruz
Say it loud
enough to handle this kind of com
mitment. He even asked me when I
was last in a steady relationship, and
if I was bitter over my past relation
ship. Huh? I’m not bitter anymore
— that was years ago, but I just did
n’t get what one had to do with the
other. Finally, I was deemed sane
enough to be an egg donor.
So I passed all of the preliminary
tests. Did I get a great feeling of self
worth? Did I feel great for helping
families that could not conceive? I’m
still thinking about that.
In the mean time, the coordinator
gave me details about the next steps in
donating my eggs. Yes, I said “eggs,”
plural. They would harvest all 25 of
my eggs, not just one. This picture is
looking grimmer by the minute. I
would need shots to stimulate my
ovaries. I hate needles — that just
brings up a red flag. It seems a litde be
yond the scope of what mother nature
intended for my body.
According to the Advanced Fertili
ty Center in Chicago, there are typi
cally two different injectable med
ications used for in vitro fertilization
cycles.
The first medication starts on
about Day 21 of the woman’s cycle
and is called Lupron. This medica
tion controls the stimulation of the
ovaries and is usually injected into
the thigh over a 14-25 day period.
The next medication begins a few
days after the woman’s period starts.
This is the follicle-stimulating hor
mone that will stimulate the ovaries
to produce multiple eggs. Examples
are Gonal-F, Follistim, Humegon,
Repronex and Fertinex.
Then when the woman’s follicles
are mature, the egg retrieval proce
dure is performed to remove the
eggs. A needle is passed through the
Peter Utsey Emerald
top of the vagina under ultrasound
guidance to get to the ovary and folli
cles. Narcotics are given so there will
be no significant pain.
Right now I’m in the waiting game,
and the more I think about it, the
less I want to be involved. Though I
started this adventure with the
greatest of intentions, the $2,500 is
worth less than what I’d have to give
— a part of me that would eventually
be a child.
I can’t help but think I would be
searching the street for children that
looked like me, children that
could’ve been mine. Children that
were meant to be made just for me.
Contact the columnist
atsalenadelacruz@dailyemerald.com.
Her opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
Research facilities threaten East Eugene
Guest commentary
Sen. Ron Wyden and University
President Dave Frohnmayer are
preparing to build two huge com
plexes for Defense Department-re
lated research in East Eugene.
Production of artificial fish for use
by the Navy and computer programs
that compute more efficient Air
Force flight routes are projects al
ready under way at the University.
Frohmayer’s column in The Regis
ter-Guard April 24,2002, helped the
University cash in on these inven
tions by encouraging voters to pass
Measures 10 and 11.
Sen. Wyden is the principal spon
sor of the 21st Century Nanotech
nology Research and Development
Act. Passage of this #2.1 billion res
olution will force intense develop
ment of the two Eugene sites.
This heavy-duty industrializa
tion, along with steadily increasing
tuition and planned demolition of
11 blocks of low-income student
family housing (Guard, Dec. 1,
2002) creates a nightmarish sce
nario for East Eugene. The defense
related complexes are planned to
replace the Moss Street neighbor
hood low-income housing blocks
and the riverfront open space be
tween EWEB and Autzen Foot
bridge.There is potential for devas
tating accidents associated with
these developments (ODE, June 7,
2002, and Portland Tribune, April
4). Luckily, we have advance no
tice so that our “leaders” can an
swer the monumental questions
most of our town will surely want
answers for. The corporate majori
ty of our city council has just added
a 30-year extension to the River
front Research Park corporate-wel
fare development incentives (Eu
gene Weekly, March 6,2003). Sony
and Hyundai have shown us what
non-sustainable development is.
The Willamette River is in terrible
shape, and replacing east campus
housing with the “multiscale materi
als and devices center” is morally
bankrupt and has vast socioeconom
ic consequences for the rest of Eu
gene. Although the University claims
to honor diversity, the reality is that
its plans east of campus amount to
ethnic cleansing. Once the low-in
come families are sent down the
road, the new child care center will
serve elite researchers as they work
on their defense-related projects just
across Moss Street.
Approval of University adminis
trators’ request for more power from
the Legislature will enhance admin
istrators ability to execute this dev
astating agenda.
Zachary Vishanoff lives in Eugene.
Online poll
Each week, the Emerald
publishes the previous week’s
poll results and the coming
week’s poll question. Visit
www.daiiyemeraid.com
to vote.
Last week; How often would
you like to see the Pulse
(entertainment) section in < - ;> ,
the Emerald?
Results: 68 total votes
Every day — 17.6 percent, or
12 votes
Twice per week—27.9
percent, or 19 votes
Once per week — 32.4
percent, or 22 votes
What's Pulse?-* 14.7 percent,
Hate mail misrepresents
true Christian spirituality
Guest commentary
I am writing in response to the
article “Religious, racial hate mail
infiltrates ASUO,” (ODE, April 9).
Being a Christian myself, I am ap
palled at what was said in the hate
mail to the ASUO.
I resent being associated with
the writer of that letter because I
certainly do not feel the same way
at all. The very fact that the writer
claims to be a Christian and then
takes the liberty to speak for all the
other Christian students on cam
pus, me included, on such a sub
ject as this, offends me greatly.
What this person is saying is not
the way true Christians believe. We
as Christians are called to love
everyone regardless of race, reli
gion or sexual preference because
God loves everyone the same. He
does not play favorites. We are all
his children, and it is not our place
to judge anyone.
In John 13:34, Jesus commands
us to “love one another. As I have
loved you so you must love one an
other.” According to this verse, we,
as Christians, followers of Christ,
are called to follow his example
^pd love everyone. Jesus himself,
God’s own son, associated with and
loved the very people that all of the
more “righteous” people scorned
(Matthew 9:9-13).
In fact, Jesus also commands us
not to judge others. It is not our
job; it is God’s. Matthew 7:1-2 says,
“Do not judge, or you too will be
judged. For in the same way you
judge others, you will be judged,
and with the measure you use, it
will be measured to you.”
Just because someone has differ
ent beliefs or is from a different ori
gin does not mean that they are in
any way inferior to anyone else.
The writer of the letter has not
only managed to give a very de
tailed account of his or her hatred
for anyone who happens to be dif
ferent from him or her, but the
writer has also managed to drag the
precious name of Jesus Christ
through the mud. Any person who
discriminates or persecutes any
other person in the name of Chris
tianity has just done the exact op
posite of what Jesus teaches.
These people also give a false im
pression of what it really means to
be a true follower of Christ, and I
think it is extremely sad.
Ashlee Garcia is a freshman
anthropology major.