The Mirror recently spotlighted several women who chose to ‘donate’ their eggs. One of them, Katie, was upset by the stigma she said she faced after she became an egg donor because she felt she was just giving away some of her DNA, not her children.
“I’ve always felt enthusiastic about helping people,” she said. “I’d spent a lot of my life around children and I wasn’t sure about the thought of becoming a mother, and coming home to more.”
Katie went through two donation cycles; the first garnered criticism at work.
“They told me it was something that I shouldn’t have done and that they weren’t even going to give me the time off to have the procedure,” she said. “It really upset me, to be honest. All I was trying to do was help people, it wasn’t for my own benefit. They couldn’t believe I was giving them away. But I’m not giving away my children. It’s just a bit of DNA.”
Yet the reality is that Katie, and anyone who ‘donates’ sperm or eggs, is giving away her children. Even just one egg donation cycle could result in multiple children, children whose identity is often kept from them, regardless of the trauma it could cause. One Harvard Medical School study found that 62% of children conceived through donor technologies believe it to be unethical and immoral. As they were intentionally deprived of at least one of their biological parents and the knowledge of their biological background and their heritage, it isn’t surprising that many donor-conceived children disagree with the practice.
READ: Study finds women are unprepared for the severity of abortion pill pain
A woman named Ellie, who was conceived using ‘donor’ sperm, explained, “I’m the child of a stranger, who altruistically sold me, his biological daughter, to a family he would never meet. He signed away his rights to be a father to me, and my parents gladly bought the gift that would give them a child. They were ecstatically happy when my mother became pregnant, but no one considered how I would feel about the transaction that took place, how I would feel about having no right to a relationship with my biological father, no access to my paternal family, not even medical information.”
Bethany, another donor interviewed by the Mirror, also said she faced criticism after she decided to become an egg donor, and it even led to the breakup of a relationship.
“I often joke that my eggs are wasted on me,” she said. “I’ve never wanted kids of my own. I don’t want or need my eggs. So, the idea that it could help someone make a loving family was really important to me. I had a few people tell me that I’d ‘change my mind in a few years’ and that any possible donor conceived children would have biological siblings.”
That seemed to have no effect on her, and her boyfriend broke up with her after they couldn’t agree on the decision. “It’s to help other women, why wouldn’t I?” she said she told her boyfriend. In the future, she said her partners would have to be okay with it. “It’s nothing to do with them. It’s my body. My choice.”
A third donor, Samantha, was already a mother when she donated her eggs and said she simply didn’t want any other children. Yet the reality of what being an egg donor means still weighs on her. “I knew for a fact that I didn’t want any more kids. I thought instead of wasting them I might as well help people that can’t conceive by themselves. I wanted to give other families what I’ve got,” she said, but admitted, “I try to keep it at the back of my mind. I’ve always wanted a little girl. The thought of having a girl out there, it’s hard to think about.”
Egg donation is also bad for women. A damning expose on the hidden dangers of egg donation was published by The Free Press last month, exposing the health complications egg donors have suffered and the emotional turmoil they are put through. The Free Press noted that the United States is one of the largest suppliers of donor eggs, specifically because the industry has virtually no regulation or oversight, nor a limit on how much money women can get for selling their eggs. This puts financially vulnerable women at high risk for exploitation.
Tell President Trump, RFK, Jr., Elon, and Vivek:
Stop killing America’s future. Defund Planned Parenthood NOW!
