Ethical Issues in the Treatment of Infertility

Many people find themselves in need of the treatment for infertility. One reason for this is that more and more women are choosing to have children later in their lives.  As the reproductive system ages, the woman might find that her eggs are getting older and they may not be as able to create an embryo. There are multiple treatment options for the infertile couple. When we begin to intervene in the reproductive system, I believe we face many different ethical questions that we simply did not have to face before now. Some of the ethical issues that have emerged are related to questions of when and who should receive such treatment. Below is a list of a few of the ethical dilemmas faced by both the mother (or parents) and the physicians and nurses who work with these clients: Here are a couple of online resources on this topic: Obstetrics and Gynecology International Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 686253, 7 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/686253 Review Articles The Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues Impacted by Modern Assisted Reproductive Technologies At: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ogi/2012/686253/ Life In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Issues At: http://www.news-medical.net/health/Infertility-Ethics.aspx Create a PowerPoint Presentation in which you introduce and discuss one of the following ethical issues and discuss both sides of the dilemma. * Infertility treatment often brings on multiple pregnancies. There are health issues both the mother and the babies with multiple pregnancies. There is also the question of the reduction in the number of embryos if the person can only afford or is only able to carry one or two babies (and she is pregnant with six embryos) and not compromise her own health? Is it ethical to discontinue the other four embryos? * What if the woman has here fertilized eggs frozen and then she dies? Who has a right to use those eggs? What about implantation in a surrogate mother? What rights do the sperm donor, egg donor and surrogate have? * What if a couple has fertilized eggs frozen for future use because they are not ready to have children? Later, this couple divorces. The woman, or the man (or both) have now remarried and want to have children. For whatever reason, they each have a difficult time getting pregnant with their new spouses. One of the couple decides they want to use the frozen fertilized eggs created with their former husband or wife. Can this happen? Is it ethical to allow or to deny the use of the fertilized eggs for use with someone who was not a contributor?      

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