Transcript IVF: Ethical, Moral & Social Issues

IVF: Moral & Social Issues
What is IVF
 In Vitro Fertilization
 IVF embryos are embryos created
in a laboratory
 ‘Test-tube’ babies
Moral Issues
Is the embryo considered a
human life? Does human life
begin:
- At the conception?
- Two weeks after conception?
- Two months after conception?
- At birth?
- What determines it?
Can embryo be human if it is still:
 Mass of tissue and blood;
 Not fully developed;
 Is not conscious;
 Not big enough;
 Inside the womb;
 Dependent on the mother;
 Does not look human;
 Part of the woman’s body;
 Bunch of cells;
 Is not wanted.
WHAT IS A UNIVERSAL DEFINITION OF WHAT MAKES A
LIFE A HUMAN LIFE?
A human is a living organism with human
chromosomes and DNA independent of
time or place.
 Is it a right or a privilege to have a
child?
- The decision to give birth to a
child – not taken lightly;
- Can every person be a parent?
 Is IVF available to all people?
- The cost: $ 12, 400.00
- Not every family can afford it,
because on average couples need
to undergo several cycles.
More moral issues
 Creation of life in a
laboratory;
 Embryos can be exposed to
chemicals;
 Possibility of genetic disease.
 More than just one embryo is
fertilized;
- Some must be frozen and
discarded;
- Can killing an embryo be justified
to save another?
 Fertility drugs: birth of multiples:
- Risks to the mother – anemia,
excessive blood pressure;
- Fetal reduction –abortion of
weaker babies;
- Contributes to the overpopulation
of the earth.
Destruction of embryos due to a
disability - disabled rejected by
society;
Are the disabled embryos considered
less valuable - more right to
termination?
• Potential to genetically modify or
select embryos – creation of
‘Designer Babies’;
• The creation of homogenous gene
pools;
• Particular sex selection.
 Is it right for IVF technicians to select embryos who
are “perfect” to transfer to the mother’s womb?
 Discuss how a couple might react if a selected
“perfect” embryo turned out to have a disability
when born.
Catholic view: Problems with IVF
 Problems with IVF:
 Separates the unitive and procreative
characteristics of marriage;

Destruction of unused embryos - ending of human
life.
 Human life has great value and it cannot be
used as means to an end.
 In his 1995 encyclical The Gospel of Life, Pope John
Paul II wrote:
"Human embryos obtained in vitro are
human beings and are subjects with
rights; their dignity and right to life
must be respected from the first
moment of their existence. It is
immoral to produce human embryos
destined to be exploited as disposable
'biological material'" (1,5).
Bibliography
 Partially created by By Lucy Foskett
 Allen, Kerrie “IVF and embryonic stem cell research: the social and
ethical issues” 2005
<http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2005/may2005p12_1931.html>
(07/10/07)
 Malpani, Dr. Aniruddha “The Social & Ethical Issues - Right or
Wrong?” http://drmalpani.com/book/chapter46.html (07/10/07)
 Goldworth, Amnon. The ethics of Invitro Fertilization.