Bloodless Coup

You know, people don't use the word "odious" nearly enough.

Seriously though, this kind of policy is really stupid, and I can see it having an impact on the IVF process. Do these people even know how IVF works? That doctors stick several fertilized eggs up in there and expect only one to implant? So right off the bat, IVF has about a 75% "murder" rate even in its successes. And if you've never talked to anyone who has gone through the process, it's brutal and takes forever, often through several cycles. That means that 3-4 eggs are implanted several times until one implants. That's a dozen or more in some cases. Do these guys want to create a system where no fertilized eggs can be "killed"? Then IVF would only be able to put in one? And there would be penalties if it didn't work?

Sweet Jesus, the stupidity.

And then there's the (not uncommon) IVF procedure where they plant a whole bunch of eggs and they all take, which is (in standard fertility-doc practice, anyway) followed by something called "selective reduction" down to one or two, because twins are a lot more likely to make it to term and be healthy than, say, quints. Eek, abortion!

Wanna see what would happen without selective reduction? Go to the mall. Count the sets of fraternal twins. These days, fraternal twins are almost always the product of some level of fertility treatment. Now, take maybe half of those sets in your mind and replace them with litters of four or five or six undersize kids, some large percentage of whom are mentally handicapped or otherwise severely developmentally delayed. Negative societal impact, anyone? Don't forget to factor in the fact that moms of twins generally go back to work eventually, but moms of quads often don't.

Of course, such a scenario is unlikely to happen, because most couples would decide that the 'risks' of IVF weren't for them, and would remain childless. Is that what we want?

Now, take maybe half of those sets in your mind and replace them with litters of four or five or six undersize kids, some large percentage of whom are mentally handicapped or otherwise severely developmentally delayed. Negative societal impact, anyone? Don't forget to factor in the fact that moms of twins generally go back to work eventually, but moms of quads often don't.

Sounds like Rick Santorum's dream.

I suppose they could always mandate IVF for all married female Americans of childbearing age. Might be able to do some further regulation of sex that way, too.

And, for the record, ya'll's points (yes, I am breaking out the 20% Dixie in my language) are a big part of why I used "liar" instead of "misleading". Brownback's far from a moron, and must know better than the fantasies he's throwing out into the public discourse, hoping they'll stick.

There's misleading - and then there's just flat-out dishonest.

"By that logic, Senator Brownback is a vagina."

Jon Stewart.

He is most definitely odious: "Rape is terrible. Rape is awful. Is it made any better by killing an innocent child? Does it solve the problem for the woman that's been raped?" the Kansas Republican asked at the St. Joseph's Covenant Keepers gathering. Schecter found a lovely picture of Brownback for illustration, too.

This is terribly sad, and obviously, reminds me of jacflash's point from last year.