The United States’ severe lack of regulation over the human commoditization that is the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) industry continues to catch the attention of many in the pro-life movement, especially Students for Life of America (SFLA). Finally, after 47 years of babies being created and discarded through IVF, some of these catastrophes are coming to light in mainstream media circles in the form of 300 reported lawsuits.   

READ: Trump Holds Many Pro-Life Wins, But His IVF Executive Order Ain’t One: The Truth About the Anti-Life IVF Industry  

An NBC News analysis of state and federal legal databases discovered over 300 lawsuits had been filed from 2019 to 2024 regarding embryos being allegedly destroyed, lost, or swapped by accident.   

According to the NBC News article, “Some legal experts say the cases are, in part, a product of the industry’s rapid growth. The number of babies born via assisted reproductive technology — which includes IVF — more than quadrupled from 1996 to 2022. The number of fertility procedures increased more than six-fold.”  

Perhaps it’s rapid growth, but paired with it is poor safety standards. The IVF industry presents numerous ethical and industry-standard issues, including a plethora of equipment failures, gametes and embryos being accidentally destroyed, and babies being born to the wrong parents, as well as a severe lack of reporting and transparency. 

 NBC’s horrifying finds come off the back of Georgia mom Krystena Murray, who was implanted with the wrong embryonic child. During the IVF process, she selected a sperm donor who resembled her: light complexion, blue eyes, and dirty blonde hair. However, her excitement turned into anxiety. 

According to Fox News, “Coastal Fertility transferred an embryo to Murray in 2023, but when she gave birth in December, Murray immediately ‘knew something was very wrong,’ the lawsuit says, because the boy whom she delivered was a ‘dark-skinned, African American baby.'”  

DNA tests revealed the baby boy was not biologically related to her or the sperm donor; her embryo had been swapped with another couple’s embryo. The biological parents then sued Murray for custody of their baby, to which Murray voluntarily surrendered the five-month-old child to them.  

READ: From Conception to Courtroom: The IVF Industry Creates Georgia Mom’s Reported Heartbreaking Situation and Adds Further Complications  

While some might write off this story as a “one-off,” NBC reports this as a regular pattern in the United States, and one must wonder why the government doesn’t seem to care. If the United Kingdom has standards, why can’t the United States? The United Kingdom’s government website outlines that following: “The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) oversees the use of gametes and embryos in fertility treatment and research. It licenses fertility clinics and centres carrying out in vitro fertilisation (IVF), other assisted conception procedures and human embryo research.” Many European countries have a similar regulating body in place.   

Unfortunately, in the U.S., fertility clinics aren’t even required, on a state or federal level, to report how many embryos are created, discarded intentionally for genetic abnormalities, being leftover (after parents reach the number of live births they desire), frozen currently or left frozen indefinitely, donated to medical research, destroyed accidentally, lost, or mistakenly swapped with another couples’ embryos.  

Typically, the only statistics that IVF clinics will track and post publicly is the pregnancy success rate. The Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act of 1992 requires that fertility clinics report this data to the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) National Artificial Reproductive Technology Surveillance System, including the total number of babies born annually and since the clinic’s founding.   

The only reason we now have some data on embryo destruction, loss, and swapping is because of the lawsuits and those willing to tell their story. Look at the following:   

• A couple sued a fertility clinic for allegedly using the wrong sperm.      

• Another couple from New Jersey claimed another fertility clinic used the wrong sperm.      

• A fertility doctor used the wrong sperm or even his own sperm and agreed to a $13 million settlement with families.      

• A fertility clinic mixed up sperm in a botched IVF treatment and accused the wife of cheating on her husband.      

• A fertility doctor used his own sperm and has 1,000 kids.  

If that’s not bad enough, let’s not forget the much more common tragedy: IVF clinic freezer malfunctions.   

Back in March 2018, “The cryogenic tank malfunction at the Pacific Fertility Center in San Francisco ruined some 3,500 eggs, embryos and other genetic material,” according to BBC News. Not to mention, “The same day, another tank failed at a Cleveland fertility clinic, resulting in the loss of over 4,000 eggs and embryos.” (emphasis added)  

Given the destructive nature of IVF, it’s clear the U.S. needs more regulation.  

“Until IVF clinics are subject to real regulations, reporting requirements, and mandatory certification programs for lab staff, these types of errors will continue to occur,” Adam Wolf, an attorney representing Murray, said at a news conference last month.    

If these IVF horror stories prove anything, it’s that the IVF industry devalues the embryonic children who are discarded and the mothers and fathers who suffer unimaginable “mix-ups” that destroy families. However, the only “bright side” to those stepping out with their story is that awareness can inspire change.   

We surely hope so for the sake of embryonic children across the country. 

Read more about the pro-life take on IVF. 

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