In another chapter in the Wild, Wild West of artificial reproduction, two Christian American families who believe in the sanctity of life are battling over two frozen embryos. Kerry Lambert and Jennifer McLaughlin linked up on an embryo donation website. Mrs Lambert and her husband Edward, who live in California, had four frozen embryos left over and wanted to find a family for them. They had been created with his sperm and donor eggs.

Jennifer and her husband Patrick, who live in Missouri, already had 5 adopted children, but wanted more. They signed an agreement that all four embryos had to be used within a year. According to the McLaughlin’s attorney, "By express terms of the agreement, they are children that are unborn but are entitled to the same rights and entities, legal and moral, as any other child."

Two of the embryos were implanted into Mrs McLaughlin and resulted in the birth of twin girls. But when she decided to have the second pair of embryos implanted, Mrs Lambert objected. She said that she had found another “home” for them. Both parties hired lawyers and the fun began. The latest news is that they are going to seek the help of a mediator instead of going to court. As Paige Cunningham, executive director of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity in Chicago, told the San Francisco Chronicle, embryo adoption is a relatively new development and only a few hundred happen each year in the US. "This is part of a massive social experimentation, and we really don't know what the outcome will be," she said. ~ San Francisco Chronicle, Apr 10