The Embryo Adoption Podcast Episode 6: Ethical IVF? Plus, Walking Through the Full NEDC Embryo Adoption Process
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Apr 5, 2026 
Sean DeMars, podcast host and fertility ethics commentator who walked the NEDC process himself, joins to probe tough questions about IVF ethics. He and Mark trace industry incentives, how NEDC handles donated embryos, and the surprisingly emotional task of browsing embryo profiles. Short, thought-provoking conversation on practice, policy, and personal experience.
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Practical IVF Routinely Creates Ethical Harm
- IVF as practiced today almost inevitably produces loss of embryos and ethically problematic decisions.
- Mark Mellinger and Sean DeMars argue clinics use PGT, discard embryos, and prioritize success-rate metrics over preserving all embryos.
Clinic Success Rates Drive Risky Practices
- Fertility clinics prioritize published success rates, which shapes their practices like creating multiple embryos and using PGT.
- That business incentive pressures clinics to discard embryos and avoid single-embryo attempts to protect statistics.
Theological Lens On Fertility Technology
- Sean views ethical reproductive technology as a theological issue: technology can counter the fall if non-ethically compromised, but current IVF mostly fails that test.
- He supports ethical innovation but believes current IVF practices lead to more embryo deaths than abortions.