More on the battle for language

Apparently the latest front in the War on Language abortion battles is the handling of "leftover" embryos at fertility clinics. Many couples just abandon these bunches of cells to indefinite time in liquid nitrogen; others donate them to use by scientists for research; still others may give them away to couples or women who would like to have a baby. This last option is one that apparently most couples don't know about, but the HHS would like to encourage. It's also the focus of new linguistical maneouverings, as the HHS (and some of its supporting agencies) push to call the process "embryo adoption" rather than "embryo donorship" -- note the shift from an analogy with "tissue donor" to treatment of the fertilized ovum as a child.

Currently, only eight states have enacted statutes that govern parental rights in embryo-donation arrangements: All but one use the term "donation" and state that an embryo donor is not a parent. Only Louisiana identifies embryos as "juridical persons" that are subject to "adoption." (Specifically, if fertility patients in that state terminate their rights to an embryo, the embryo cannot be destroyed or otherwise donated; it must be made available for "adoptive implantation" -- but only to married couples.)

One conservative writer in this article even uses the term "microscopic Americans." Thus they manage to finesse the issue of when personhood begins, while simultaneously making the notion of stem-cell production (a possible use of discarded embryos) seem unthinkable. Clever. Creepy. Likely to lead to even more embryos being left in the freezer until they're no longer viable...