Assisted Reproduction Chapter Summary

The main thesis of the chapter is the ethical, moral, and social issues regarding assisted reproduction (IVF), multiple births, and pregnancy at an old age. The chapter opens with Nadya Suleman’s decision to have her physician implant all her in vitro embryos into her uterus, which, lead to her later giving birth to octuplets. The physician who performed the embryo implementation had broken reproductive guidelines by implying more embryos than advised, and because Nadya had had disabled children from IVF prior, it was unethical. The next case of IVF involves the birth of Louise Brown. Her mother could not have children do to health reasons, and her eggs had to be fertilized outside of her uterus with her husband’s sperm. People praised this medical breakthrough for giving unfertile women a chance to still have children, however, critics claimed that this violated natural procreation and was therefore, immoral. Today, woman can donate their eggs, have them fertilized, and give the embryos to other women. A question asked in the chapter is

In the reading, it describes the high costs of performing IVF and the low chance of a pregnancy with implanting just a single embryo. The reading references Nadya Suleman’s decision to implant all her embryos and whether the decision by her physician to follow her wishes was ethical. Since there is little to no government interference in this industry, fertility clinics may use unscrupulous tactics to get couples business or encourage pregnancies. Guidelines by the C.D.C. and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine say that it is healthier to implant one embryo at a time and just repeat the procedure until a pregnancy occurs, but that may not be a viable option for couples desperate to have children. Having multiple births can lead to possible birth defects and possible health complications for the