German Law To Protect Embryos Does the Opposite

FRANKFURT, GERMANY — A 1991 German law designed to protect embryos is having the opposite effect of increasing the number of fetuses killed after fertility treatment, according to a study.

The law stipulates that no more than three embryos can be created a cycle of in vitro fertility and that all three must be transferred to the patient's womb at the same time.

This has resulted in an increase in the number of so-called fetal reductions being performed, according to a study presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Lyon, France, yesterday.

Fetal reductions, a procedure used to increase the chances of remaining fetuses surviving in a multiple pregnancy, is also being used more since the government cut state funding for alternative reproduction procedures in 2004. The law is putting patients and babies at risk, according to the study.

"As the law currently stands it is killing embryos rather than protecting them," said Ricardo Felberbaum, head of the German IVF registry, told fertility experts at the meeting. "The law needs to be changed urgently."