These days, infertility is no longer a problem that will prevent a married couple from starting a family. Due to the advances in medical science, it has become possible for women with reproductive problems and men with low sperm count to conceive a child that shares the same DNA traits as the parents because of drug induced fertility or In Vitro Fertilization. But, that is not to say that these procedures come without a backlash or medical, as well as legal hindrances. A reproductive endocrinologist is consulted in such matters and he in turn studies the case in order to suggest and eventually implement the most proper fertility treatment for a couple.
One of the treatments that is readily available for less complex fertility cases is the prescription of clomiphene citrate in order to induce ovulation in anovulation cases. Anovulation is a situation where the ovulation and menstruation cycle of the woman must be regulated and induced in order to prepare her system for fertility treatments using drugs. This treatment usually happens over 3 or 4 cycles of therapy and has a 3/4 success rate. Although simple and with a good success rate, there have been instances wherein the question of playing God has come into the scenario with regards to this treatment. This is because a treatment plan must be threshed out at the very beginning and should a physician sense a problem with the treatment, be it on a moral or medical ground, he has the option to withhold and/or cancel the treatment. This is not to say however, that the couple seeking treatment cannot seek treatment elsewhere.
Another option in the field of assistive reproduction technology is In Vitro Fertilization. Depending upon the situation, a woman’s eggs may be harvested for fertilization and implantation or, a man’s sperm may be harvested in order to insure a successful fertilization process. In cases of difficult pregnancies, the man or woman may also opt to have their eggs or sperms harvested for cryo preservation (future fertilization use). The implantation procedure is highly regulated but still results oftentimes in multiple child births, not that the parents mind anyway. Under the guidelines set by the Society For Assistive Reproductive Technology, no more than 2 eggs can be implanted in a woman younger than 35 and with enough embryo’s for cryo preservation, 3 if the woman has no more eggs for cryo preservation, 4 eggs for women between 35 and 40, 5 if the woman is over 40.
Even though these procedures seem to be run of the mill these days and multiple births seem to be increasing in number because of it, there are still moral and ethical dilemmas to be hurdled. One of which is the question of human cloning using abandoned IVF cells. Should these embryos, that will not be allowed to come to full term anyway, and will be used for scientific studies in the hopes of finding cures for diseases, be considered human and accorded the same rights and respect as an unborn child? Or, should be considered just a pluripotent stem cell which simply serves a scientific purpose? Such is the gray area now faced by scientists and fertility specialists. The answer to the question will not be easily found. Morally speaking, an embryo becomes a human being the minute the heart starts to beat, since a 5 day old embryo does not have a heart beat yet, it is my opinion that it is not yet a human being and can therefore be aborted and used for scientific research. After all, we study cadavers in medical school in order to learn about how a disease affects a person, what it to stop us from studying an embryo that might help us understand how a disease develops? Ethically speaking, I believe that science should takes steps to insure that the abandoned or aborted stem cells as treated with dignity and respect, after all, it would have been another human being. With regards to IVF, the medical hazards of the procedure include, for the child, multiple and low birth rates, premature and birth defects, as well as congenital anomalies. While for mothers, we are looking at hypertension, anemia, placental abruption and placenta previa, pre-term labor and delivery, and cesarean section complications.
It is my opinion that fertility treatments are a right of every married couple as having children is considered a basic outcome of married life. It is a divine right inferred within the bible’s book of Genesis when God told Adam and Eve to “go forth and multiply”. Therefore, if one is unable to bear children, an opportunity sanctioned by God has been missed. Science has merely created ways and means by which man can fulfill such a divine legacy.
Morally speaking, just being a married or unmarried couple does not make for a family. A family is defined by society as a married or unmarried couple with offspring. Therefore, to fall under the classification of a family, the couple must have children as a result of that union. Once again, the inability of a couple to bear children should not be viewed as a hindrance to creating a family because science has successfully offered us ways and means by which a couple can become a complete family unit. Therefore, fertility treatments could also be viewed as a “constitutional” right to create a family.
After a couple have been informed of the pros and cons of each particular treatment, they should be allowed the freedom to choose how to begin their family. However, due to the complexities of married life and the family structure in this day and age, the reproductive endocrinologist of the couple must serve as the very first guardian of the unborn child. He has the moral duty to protect the yet to be conceived and already conceived child from potential parental and health problems. In the case of the woman who lied about why she wanted to have a child, I would most likely have done the same thing because as a reproductive endocrinologist, I have the sworn duty to protect the unborn child from any future harm it might encounter. I also have the duty to make sure that any woman undergoing fertility treatments is of sound mind and body. Should my patient display and such shortcomings, I would suggest other medical treatments to deal with the problems before proceeding with the fertility treatments.