Mutation multiplication

A European doctor is calling for tighter controls on sperm donation after one man unknowingly passed along a cancer-causing genetic mutation to 23 children. The doctor, biologist Edwige Kasper of Rouen University Hospital in France, described the alarming case in May during a conference of the European Society of Human Genetics.

Between 2008 and 2015, 46 families in eight European countries used sperm from the same donor to conceive at least 67 children, Kasper said. Of those children, 10 have already been diagnosed with cancers such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma and brain tumors, while 13 more are carrying the dangerous genetic abnormality. Those carrying the mutation will need regular medical exams to detect tumors early, Kasper said.

Though the donor is healthy, an analysis discovered that he has a mutation of the TP53 gene. The gene normally prevents tumor formation by regulating cell replication. Although the man underwent genetic testing when he donated to the European Sperm Bank in Denmark, it isn’t common practice to screen for mutations in the TP53 gene.

Advocates tout sperm donation as a solution for infertile couples, but the practice raises ethical concerns—including the problem of decreased genetic diversity in the population. Regulations vary by country: France allows 10 births per sperm donor, the Netherlands permits up to 12, and the United States has no enforced national limit. Meanwhile, the European Sperm Bank allows up to 75 families to use the same donor.

Still, not everyone follows the rules. A court in the Netherlands in 2023 ordered a Dutch man to stop donating after he allegedly fathered between 500 and 600 children around the world.

Individuals conceived with donor sperm are more likely to struggle with their identity and feel confused about their heritage, according to a study from the Institute for American Values.

Associated Press / Photo by Charlie Neibergall

The abortion pill’s dubious safety claims

Among abortion advocates, a common talking point is that the abortion pill is safer than over-the-counter drugs taken for a headache. But in a peer-­reviewed article published May 24 in the online journal BioTech, the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute disputes that notion as “unfounded, misleading, and entirely dangerous.”

Planned Parenthood claims on its website that the abortion pill—actually a two-drug regimen involving mifepristone and misoprostol—is safer than Tylenol, despite that no study has ever compared the drugs’ risks. In its study, the Charlotte Lozier Institute notes that while abortion supporters often point to Tylenol-related deaths while promoting abortion drugs’ purported safety, those Tylenol deaths often result from misuse across a much larger number of users. Meanwhile, women who take abortion pills typically do so as prescribed, yet still face heightened risks of sepsis, hemorrhage, and death. The study also notes the claim does not provide an equal comparison of safety risks—including the risk to the unborn children who are intentionally killed through mifepristone. —L.C.