Embryo Adoption: A Win-Win.

At a time when Congress is fiercely debating whether to protect human embryos or destroy them for research, a handful of squirming, laughing, crying, and sleeping toddlers offered convincing evidence for their right to life.

The families who spoke at the U.S. Capitol on September 22 are part of a growing movement that provides a humane alternative to disposing of or conducting research on "excess" human embryos created by in vitro fertilization (IVF). It's called "embryo adoption."

One of the sponsors of the gathering, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), said the purpose of the program "is to take these little children and give them the potential to live the rest of their lives as the gifts from God that they are."

Congressman Mike Pence (R-In.) praised the gathering. "Now why would people come from Berne, Indiana?" he asked. "Well, the answer can be found in their 18-month-old twins Caroline and Spencer who are a daily and profound reminder that embryonic adoption should be preferred in the law always over destroying human embryos for stem-cell research."

Cong. Pence added, "You see, Caroline and Spencer Keim are fully human today, just as they were 18 short months ago when they were in the frozen embryonic stage of their development. They stand as a living testament to the truth that it would have been morally wrong to destroy their embryonic lives even for well-intentioned medical research."

One mother after another took turns at a press conference sponsored by Focus on the Family to explain why legislators should view their children, each adopted in the embryo stage, as human beings - - not as fodder for lethal experiments. Families also voiced strong opposition to "The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2004." (H.R. 4682), a bill to require federal funding of stem cell research that requires killing IVF-created human embryos.

"Human embryos are not 'goldfish'"