Issues, Etc. An IVF Story Connected to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – Josh Wood, 3/27/26 (0862)
Mar 27, 2026
Josh Wood, executive director of Them Before Us and commentator on family and bioethics, shares a personal IVF-related story tied to the NCAA tournament. He outlines embryo selection, questions the fate of unused embryos, and frames selection practices as modern eugenics. He also raises concerns about commodifying children, future artificial wombs, and calls for stronger protections for all unborn children.
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Boozer Family IVF Saga And Savior Siblings
- The Boozer family used IVF to create multiple embryos to cure their first child Carmani of sickle cell, resulting in two donor brothers Caden and Cameron.
- Josh Wood recounts 34 eggs retrieved, about 10 sickle-cell-free embryos, and two selected as matches who became Duke basketball stars.
Embryo Screening As Modern Eugenics
- IVF selection deems embryos 'undesirable' based on traits, effectively ranking human life by characteristics like disease or sex.
- Josh Wood links embryo screening and emerging polygenic tests to a modern eugenics project dressed up as medical progress.
Savior Siblings And Child Commodification
- Creating 'savior siblings' treats children as products by designing them primarily to serve another child's medical needs.
- Wood cites parents' own words admitting the children were born out of love for Carmani rather than love for the children themselves.
