Selling Eggs

This week on Dear Prudence, an advice column on Slate.com, a man writes in because he and his student wife have fallen on hard times and she wants to harvest her eggs for the money. He’s apprehensive because he has “a hard time seeing her eggs merely as genetic material” and that he would feel responsible for the possible offspring as they would be “half his wife”. 

I have two issues with this – First, that he said, “I think these hopeful parents should consider adopting.” If people have the means to do such an expensive procedure and the donor is willing, they have the right to do whatever the heck they like. They’re not specifically hunting down this guy’s wife for her precious eggs, they just want a baby. If people don’t want to adopt, they don’t want to adopt. (Even though I, personally, would rather adopt.)

My second issue is actually with a response on a message board that only said, “Would you sell a Baby?????” [sic] 

Since when is an unfertilized egg equivalent to a baby? (You might see that exact question posed to the message-writer if you find it.) This response is just so… I can’t even think of how to describe it. Uneducated? Fanatic? Forgive me for making assumptions, but it makes me think of some baby-crazed person who believes babies are divine creatures that require capitalization when written out. It makes one wonder how this person feels about those women who dare to have periods instead of fertilizing every possible egg in their ovaries. 

I can understand the hesitation, I really can. I think Prudie is right when she suggests really thinking this over because it is still her DNA and I still think that does mean something. I also think it might be a good idea. They sound like they’re having a tough time financially and it really would help out a couple who wants a baby. So really, I can understand either decision. I think the husband’s reluctance does border on controlling his wife’s body, but they’re married and he doesn’t seem quite so far as “Her body is my body.” But he’s definitely close. 

Honestly, for some reason, they just both came off as immature, especially the husband. It really took him until he was 30 to realize that maybe screenwriting isn’t the most plausible Plan A? Really?