{"id":2613317,"date":"2026-06-11T08:26:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T12:26:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/like-abortion-ivf-kills-babies-for-having-less-desirable-traits\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T08:30:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T12:30:42","slug":"like-abortion-ivf-kills-babies-for-having-less-desirable-traits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/like-abortion-ivf-kills-babies-for-having-less-desirable-traits\/","title":{"rendered":"Like Abortion, IVF Kills Babies For Having &#8216;Less Desirable&#8217; Traits"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flike-abortion-ivf-kills-babies-for-having-less-desirable-traits%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2613317&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The passage discusses viral online claims about YouTuber Jesse Ridgway and his wife allegedly ending the life of a preborn child diagnosed with Down syndrome, and argues that even if the story\u2019s details are unverified, the outrage reflects a broader pro-life criticism of how embryos and fetuses with disabilities are treated.<\/p>\n<p>it then contrasts abortion with IVF practices, arguing that IVF-especially embryo \u201cgrading\u201d and embryo selection-can lead to the destruction of embryos judged \u201cnon-viable\u201d or \u201cabnormal\u201d through visual assessment and genetic testing. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >text explains preimplantation genetic screening\/testing<\/a> (PGT\/PGD), including embryo biopsy and DNA testing, and claims these methods can be inaccurate-sometimes causing healthy embryos to be discarded and sometimes misdiagnosing embryos. it also argues that the ability to select embryos based on traits (and even sex) reflects eugenic aims, regardless of whether couples frame it as reducing suffering.<\/p>\n<p>Next, it criticizes the medical wording used around some prenatal conditions (e.g., \u201clethal\u201d or \u201cincompatible with life\u201d), saying it can create an illusion of certainty and influence decisions toward abortion, even though outcomes cannot be predicted with complete accuracy.<\/p>\n<p>the author concludes that both abortion and IVF involve sacrificing human life to satisfy parental preference, and that screening and selection are central to the IVF industry in a way pro-lifers should find troubling.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The social media world has been blowing up with discussions about YouTuber Jesse Ridgway and his wife Ashley\u2019s decision to terminate the life of their precious preborn baby, simply because he or she may have had Down Syndrome. While we still don\u2019t know for sure if this story is legitimate or <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/McJuggerNuggets\/status\/2063819110450933860\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">created for social media engagement<\/a>, pro-lifers are <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/McJuggerNuggets\/status\/2062706211787571502\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rightly outraged<\/a> at the idea, with many sharing their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sarah.e.keane\/posts\/pfbid0qEKkR4pzudJzUWvbnS3bDv1fq9gb1TK7TxWRPq5jN837E256sZMQg5tw1LKE2Gr7l\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">own<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo\/?fbid=10164019461078886&#038;set=a.10150102876153886\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stories<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo\/?fbid=10241608757297180&#038;set=a.4353888446815\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">about<\/a> those with Down Syndrome in their lives.<\/p>\n<p>Pro-lifers, including myself, are justifiably angry at the thought that any couple could so callously snuff out the life of their child based on a diagnosis that he or she would be \u201cless than perfect.\u201d Yet many pro-lifers still find excuses to justify in vitro fertilization (IVF), a procedure that sometimes discards embryos that look like they\u2019re not developing properly, based solely on visual inspection. This procedure is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/prolife\/comments\/1ft0m5b\/people_who_are_pro_life_and_pro_ivf_what_is_your\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">often justified<\/a> because, unlike abortion, it doesn\u2019t take the lives of human beings in a direct, obvious manner. After all, it brings about life, and if every embryo created is transferred, or <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/18\/tim-walzs-position-on-ivf-shows-how-extreme-he-is\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">donated for another couple<\/a> to transfer, then <a href=\"https:\/\/open.substack.com\/pub\/katherinebreckenridge\/p\/can-ivf-ever-be-done-ethically?r=fdxhz&#038;utm_campaign=post&#038;utm_medium=web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">what\u2019s the problem<\/a>?<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Preimplantation Screenings<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>While not every couple opts to have their embryos undergo <a href=\"https:\/\/fertility.womenandinfants.org\/treatment\/preimplantation-genetic-testing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">preimplantation genetic screenings<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/americas-rent-a-womb-industry-lures-an-alarming-number-of-chinese-nationals\/\" title=\"China&#039;s Citizens Flock to America&#039;s Surrogacy Business\">preimplantation genetic testing<\/a> (PGT) upon fertilization, embryos are still visually graded and chosen for transfer based on their likelihood of successful implantation in the womb after a screening process that picks the \u201cbest\u201d blastocysts (day 5 or 6 after fertilization) to implant. <\/p>\n<p>After these blastocysts are screened, only the ones determined to be \u201cgenetically healthy and normal\u201d are transferred \u2014 with <a href=\"https:\/\/naturalwomanhood.org\/egg-freezing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">meager hope of implantation<\/a>. The embryologist checks embryos under the microscope for 5 days and observes embryo development such as the embryonic membranes and the inner cell mass. The embryos are then graded and selected and the ones that appear healthiest are chosen for transfer.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Craig Turczynski, a reproductive physiologist, revealed that embryos that had been deemed \u201cnon-viable\u201d or \u201cimperfect\u201d and were then discarded could have been perfectly viable, given the opportunity to implant. \u201cThe current method of evaluating viability is based on visual inspection and we have some ideas of what makes a viable embryo, but it is imperfect,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1wBDo2VcfOtqxAxliFsuRSbCXhr2RUPF_\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to Turczynski<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Preimplantation Genetic Testing and Diagnosis<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>PGT is the procedure that analyzes chromosomes to determine conditions such as Down Syndrome. Reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Lauren Rubal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_l2Z12OcAzQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stated<\/a> that if an IVF cycle yields 12 embryos, about half of the embryos will continue to mature, and about half of those will be considered \u201cchromosomally normal\u201d after they undergo PGT, leaving the other three to be outright discarded.<\/p>\n<p>PGT and Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) both involve conducting an embryo biopsy that removes three to 10 cells from the section that will form the placenta, followed by laboratory genetic testing of DNA. Rubal stated that it\u2019s possible to biopsy the wrong area of chromosomes in an embryo and be incorrect about a diagnosis. However, even diagnoses that are indeed not \u201cincompatible with life,\u201d such as those with Down syndrome, are automatically deemed \u201cnon-transferrable.\u201d Rubal further stated that PGT is not always accurate, and that chromosomally \u201cnormal\u201d babies have been born from embryos deemed \u201cabnormal,\u201d or from \u201caneuploid\u201d cells as opposed to \u201ceuploid\u201d cells (having the normal number of chromosomes).<\/p>\n<p>These tests can show blastocysts as having abnormalities when they are indeed normal, resulting annually in thousands of healthy embryos\u2019 destruction. Embryologists at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.futurity.org\/ivf-fertilization-embryos-pregnancy-2574772\/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_m%20edium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=ivf-fertilization-embryos-pregnancy-2574772\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Center for Human Reproduction<\/a> also witnessed failed IVF attempts with embryos initially declared \u201cnormal,\u201d and observed thousands of babies born from embryos that were deemed \u201cabnormal.\u201d How many innocent human beings\u2019 lives could have been saved if they had not been subjected to the judgment of whether they were \u201cgood quality\u201d humans?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.contemporaryobgyn.net\/view\/the-promise-and-challenges-of-preimplantation-genetic-testing-for-ivf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PGD<\/a> is a popular \u201cadd-on\u201d feature to determine the likelihood of implantation success and test for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/embryo-dumping-fertility-industry-is-panicked-over-the-potential-overturn-of-roe-v-wade\/\" title=\"...-Dumping Fertility Industry Is Panicked Over The Potential Overturn Of Roe V. Wade\">inherited genetic anomalies<\/a>, such as cystic fibrosis and spinal muscular atrophy. Preimplantation diagnosis also allows couples to choose which embryos to transfer based on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yalemedicine.org\/conditions\/ivf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">preferred sex<\/a>. Even if couples are motivated by wanting to eliminate suffering due to a disability, couples are still performing an inherently eugenic and immoral act by eliminating imperfections through the taking of innocent human life.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Lethal Language<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Physicians will often use phrases such as \u201cfatal fetal anomaly,\u201d \u201clethal or terminal prenatal diagnosis,\u201d and \u201cincompatible with life.\u201d This language can influence parental decisions on abortion, as it often makes parents feel like termination is the best decision, even though physicians can\u2019t actually determine with 100 percent accuracy whether a baby will live.<\/p>\n<p>This lethal language gives the false impression of certainty, contrary to the fact that this is not true and several studies have indeed found otherwise. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pdcnet.org\/pdc\/bvdb.nsf\/purchase26?openform&#038;fp=em&#038;id=em_2020_0045_0001_0001_0004\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A study from 2017<\/a>, for example, found that if babies with trisomy 18 underwent heart surgery, their survival rate almost doubled.<\/p>\n<p>A lot of commenters on posts about the Ridgways made the argument that the tests for Down syndrome are often wrong, and they may have killed a perfectly healthy child. While this is true, this argument should make no difference when it comes to providing preborn and embryonic human persons with the right to life. If children are indeed born with developmental disabilities, does that suddenly make them less worthy of life?<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Bottom Line<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Abortion and the <a href=\"https:\/\/salvomag.com\/article\/salvo60\/ivf-the-devil-in-the-details\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">IVF process<\/a> ask that children be involuntarily sacrificed to satisfy the desires of those who should be their greatest protectors \u2014 their parents. But, while many pro-lifers are quick to acknowledge that abortion is an inherently immoral act, we must face the reality that playing trial and error with the lives of embryonic human persons is inherent within the IVF process. Grading these persons based on quality and screening for imperfections is part and parcel of this industry and should give pro-lifers pause about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-life-leaders-call-out-major-trump-admin-misstep-that-treats-children-like-products-to-be-discarded\/\" title=\"Pro-... Leaders Call Out Major Trump Admin Misstep That Treats Children Like &#039;Products&#039; to Be &#039;...&#039;\">creating human beings<\/a> in laboratories, even if they think they are doing it in an <a href=\"https:\/\/open.substack.com\/pub\/katherinebreckenridge\/p\/can-ivf-ever-be-done-ethically?r=fdxhz&#038;utm_campaign=post&#038;utm_medium=web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cethical\u201d manner<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Katie Breckenridge works for the children&#8217;s rights organization Them Before Us and is the author of the book <i>Silent Sorrows: Let&#8217;s talk about abortion, reproductive technologies, and adoption.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Social media debates Jesse Ridgway\u2019s choice to end a preborn baby\u2019s life due to possible Down syndrome<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":828,"featured_media":2613318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Early_human_embryos_27872285595-e1780944868480.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[4310,32468,36292],"class_list":["post-2613317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-abortion","tag-ivf","tag-reproductive-rights"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Early_human_embryos_27872285595-e1780944868480.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/828"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2613317"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2613326,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613317\/revisions\/2613326"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2613318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2613317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2613317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2613317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}