WOMEN WILL BE PAID TO DONATE EGGS

Women being paid for their eggs is one of the many concerns some of us in Missouri had about cloning and embryonic stem cell research. Here are just some of the drawbacks:

But scientists from the University of Padua in Italy have warned that women who donate their eggs for research could be at risk from life-threatening side effects induced by the powerful drugs administered to them. The drugs help to increase the number of eggs produced and were found by the scientists to cause paralysis and could lead to limb amputation and even death.

There were also warnings last night that poor women could be tempted or coerced into taking part for the money. 'The HFEA could be unwittingly opening the door to barter or sale of eggs, including women in Britain as well as abroad, even though it is saying that women doing this would do so for purely altruistic reasons,' said Donna Dickenson, emeritus professor of medical ethics and humanities at the University of London and one of Britain's leading experts on the issue.

'The sum of £250 would still be enough of an inducement for women from eastern Europe, for example, to come to Britain to sell their eggs. That's clearly turning eggs into an object of trade and that's disturbing. Once the principle of egg donation for research is established, it will become harder to prohibit paid egg donation.'

Supporters of Missouri's Amendment 2 said that women would not get paid for their eggs, just compensated for their time and travel. Those opposed to Amendment 2 knew that the women could be paid a generous amount for compensation and there would be nothing anyone could do. This new ruling in the UK just opens another door to this slippery slope of experimenting on human life.