Paternity Questions About Michael Jackson's Kids Shine Light On Embryo Donation/Adoption

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 06 Jul 2009 - 1:00 PST

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Entangled in all the controversial drama surrounding the sudden death of Pop-Icon Michael Jackson is the issue of his three children's paternity. With conflicting facts out there, many people are talking about the possibility that his children may have been born through embryo donation and adoption. This practice is not new. Many families are successfully birthing healthy babies from frozen embryos throughout the United States.

The Snowflakes Frozen Embryo Adoption program (Snowflakes), a service offered by Nightlight Christian Adoptions, reports that through its agency alone, 205 babies have been born through embryo donation and adoption and 13 more babies are expected by January 2010. Statistical estimates show that nation-wide through all agencies offering this form of adoption, over 1,500 children have been born and the total births from embryo donation and adoption are increasing 15 percent each year.

Here's a quote from one family that adopted a child this way: "We felt like everyone had some control. The donor couple selected us, so they had some choice in the destiny of their surplus embryos. We were delighted and felt truly blessed to be chosen from a lot of other needy infertile couples that had also completed a home study (family assessment) with the adoption agency. Snowflakes actually helped match the genetic parents of the embryos with our wants as the adopting couple, and then the clinic completed our successful embryo transfer."

Snowflakes has a plethora of information on this cutting-edge form of adoption on its Website. In fact, the following link offers personal stories from parents who have successfully used embryo donation and adoption to build their families and those who decided to donate their own frozen embryos to another family - http://www.nightlight.org/adoption-videos.

Just yesterday, Georgia became the first state in the nation to have a law allowing adoption of an embryo - The Option of Adoption Act. The law's language does not specifically define an embryo as a person but supporters say there's no mistaking the implication. This move by Georgia is seen as the first of many similar laws in states throughout the union and will surely serve to grow the practice of embryo donation and adoption.

Source
Nightlight Christian Adoptions