Every once in a while, Fredo the Frozen reminds Umbert's readers of the plight of America's 500,000+ frozen embryos in fertility labs across the nation. Aside from the fact that these are living human beings, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, there are a host of other issues, moral and legal, surrounding the existence of these members of the frozen brood section. In many cases they are being treated not as human beings, but as products; nameless, faceless objects as part of a business transaction between a couple and the fertility clinic. How long before they become available on the open market as brand-able merchandise? (Didn't we already fight a civil war over the buying and selling of human beings?) I can just see the TV commercials hawking human embryos and extolling the quality of their genetic makeup. Soon prospective parents will be able to shop for hair and eye color as well as intellectual vs athletic ability. Then there's the issue of using unwanted embryos for scientific and medical research, still a hotly debated topic in American politics. And why are there so many embryos in cold storage in the first place? Obviously, more embryos are created than are actually needed to ensure enough "material" to guarantee a successful pregnancy. The leftovers go right into the freezer with a future about as uncertain as last night's leftover meatloaf. Thus, we leave poor Fredo in suspended animation wondering when, if ever, he will finally get a womb of his own.
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