Melanie Mund, a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania and a Plainview resident, recently drafted legislation she hopes to have introduced in the state assembly.

"The bill would call for couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) to sign advanced directives for excess embryo disposition," said Mund. "Also, it commissions the health department to provide educational information about donating the embryos for disease treatment stem cell research."

The 20-year-old is one of a small group of students who wrote legislation as part of an assignment for their Introduction to Bioethics class, which is taught by Associate Director for Education at the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania Dr. Glen McGee.

Students had to create a bill dealing with stem cells and it had to then be introduced in their home state. Mund, who has a history of Parkinson's Disease in her family, wanted to do something that was related to actual disease research and possible cures.

"The excess IVF embryos seemed like a really viable resource that was not being tapped into so much," said Mund who got in touch with a senior associate council in Albany for help. "She was very helpful in terms of figuring out what already existed in New York State and how I could work around that. Eventually I came up with the idea to introduce these advance directives to donate embryos toward research and to educate people about what stem cell research actually is because everyone has an opinion on it even when they don't know what it means. I have personal stock in disease research that they are doing."

According to Mund, excess embryo disposition has long presented problems for the state and for IVF patients; often embryos lie abandoned in storage for upwards of a decade. "Clinics fear the legal repercussions of thawing with no further action and patients, if they have not severed contact with the clinics and stopped paying storage fees, cannot decide how best to dispose of their excess embryos," said Mund.

This bill would implement the use of advanced directives for the disposition of such excess embryos, including the option to donate the excess embryos for research purposes, according to Mund. "Couples and individuals may feel more at ease undergoing IVF treatment by taking responsibility for and making a decision in advance on the disposition of their excess embryos," she said.

Additionally, it would establish a disease-treatment related stem cell research education program targeted at couples and individuals considering excess embryo disposition options. Mund stated that the education research program would promote awareness of the advancements in and benefits of stem research, including the disease-treatment possibilities such research offers and the contribution individuals can make to further such research through embryo donation.

"I was so concerned about the legal loopholes for custody of abandoned embryos," said Mund. "Such litigations could cause real problems for the state. The public is aware of these problems from both sides. People write about this all the time, but legally nothing has changed so far."

Mund submitted her legislation, which is still in an introductory stage, to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver a few weeks ago. "It is very encouraging to see our state youth getting involved in government," said Silver. "Ms. Mund's class certainly represents a refreshing approach to proactive education."

Mund is a bioethics minor at Penn and, although she is pre-med, she hopes to do bioethics consulting and policy writing for hospitals. Mund is also studying English and Jewish Studies.