Fertility: A Right to Take From No One
As a society, the world wants to fix its problems, especially when it comes to the future population of the world. While many people have no second thoughts on infertility, a fare percentage of the population bares the ghastly side effects of this. However, in recent years, new techniques have been designed to relieve families of this burden. Fertility treatments have a miracle effect on many couples that suffer from a variety of injuries or illness. The following facts and scenarios such as male infertility, women infertility, and how the treatment works showcase the key justifications that prove why all fertility treatments should be allowed.
Although infertility is normally blamed on the woman, recent studies prove that it is just as much a male problem as well. We know this is a problem based on the fact that, “fatherhood is made possible by science,. . . to overcome the 40 percent of infertility problems due to the ‘male factor’” (Whitlow, 1). For example, there are many things that can go wrong with a male’s genitals. They could have a low sperm count or get cancer. Before he undergoes surgery and loses his abilities, sperm can be extracted for later reproduction. One also finds that many males suffer from varicocele. “This condition causes dilation of the veins and increased blood supply in the testicles, leading to a spike in temperature and damage to the sperm” (Macgruder 4). She also goes on to mention other fertility problems among men such as: immunological factors, anatomical defects, blocked tubes, and hormonal factors. The modern pregnancy methods make all defects able to overcome. Hence, no one should miss out on a miracle if they do not want to.
On the co...
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...” Newsweek. 25 Mar. 2002: 60-61. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 21 Apr. 2014
• Guo, J., et al. “Analysis Of Clinical Data Of Patients With Different Outcomes After Short-Time Insemination.” Andrologia 44.(2012): 667-671. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Apr. 2014
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• Lunau, Kate. “Thirty-Seven and Counting.” Maclean’s. 24 Oct. 2012: p. 46. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
• MacGruder, Janie. “Emotional, Physical, Financial Toll of Infertility Can Be Devastating.” Arizona Republic (Pheonix, AZ). 28 Apr. 2004: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 21 Apr. 2014
• Whitlow, Joan. “New Methods Aid Infertile Males.” Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ). 10 Jul. 1994: Sec. 6, 1+. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Apr. 2014
For many years, infertile couples have had difficulty facing the reality that they can not have children. According to Nidus Information Services Incorporated, 6.2 million women in the United States are infertile. This problem leads to many options. A few options have been used for a long period of time: the couple could adopt a child or keep trying to have a child themselves. For those couples that want to have their own children, there are new options arising. In vetro fertilization is an option that gives couples the chance to have a doctor combine the male's sperm and the woman's eggs in a petri dish and implant them into the woman's womb after the artificial conception. This may result in multiple pregnancies - more than five in some cases. This does not only occur in implantation, however. Many times the patient's doctor will ask her to consider selective reduction: aborting a few fetuses to save the ones she can. In a case of multiple pregnancy, selective reduction should be considered an option.
The advancement and continued developments of third-party assisted reproductive medical practices has allowed many prospective parents, regardless of their marital status, age, or sexual orientation, to have a new opportunity for genetically or biologically connected children. With these developments come a number of rather complex ethical issues and ongoing discussions regarding assisted reproduction within our society today. These issues include the use of reproductive drugs, gestational services such as surrogacy as well as the rights of those seeking these drugs and services and the responsibilities of the professionals who offer and practice these services.
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a complex series of procedures used to help those who want children but struggle with infertility. The process consists of extracting eggs from a woman and collecting a man’s sperm sample then manually combining them in a lab dish. Once the embryo(s) are created they are transferred to a woman’s uterus. IVF is commonly used in woman who cannot conceive on their own due to different reasonings. “These include but are not limited to blocked or damaged fallopian tubes, male factor infertility, woman with ovulation disorders, genetic disorders, woman who have had their fallopian tubes removed and unexplained infertility.” (American Pregnancy)
Rice, A. D., Patterson, K., Wakefield, L. B., Reed, E. D., Breder, K. P., Wurn, B. F., & Wurn, L. J. (2015). Ten-year Retrospective Study on the Efficacy of a Manual Physical Therapy to Treat Female Infertility. Alternative Therapies In Health And Medicine, 21(3), 36-44.
No other element of the Women’s Rights Movement has generated as much controversy as the debate over reproductive rights. As the movement gained momentum so did the demand for birth control, sex education, family planning and the repeal of all abortion laws. On January 22, 1973 the Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision which declared abortion "fundamental right.” The ruling recognized the right of the individual “to be free from unwanted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the right of a woman to decide whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.” (US Supreme Court, 1973) This federal-level ruling took effect, legalizing abortion for all women nationwide.
Oakley, Ann. “Beyond The Yellow Wallpaper.” Reproductive Health Matters 5.10 (1997): 29-39. JSTOR. Web. 7 April 2011.
As women, it is important to remember that the reproductive freedoms we now have can be easily taken away. Some people take for granted the accessibility to birth control, condoms, and abortion. President Bush has initiated policies since coming into office that threaten women’s choices. As the Bush administration takes over, it is important for women and men to come together to support women’s rights. “Bush is setting a tone for anti-choice legislation, so I expect that any legislator who is anti-choice will put something in this year,” said Jessica Morgan, president of the Baltimore chapter of the National Organization for Women (Koenig, B2). Legislative, executive, and judicial action can very possibly come together during this administration to limit or eliminate women’s reproductive freedom.
Ricci, Mariella Lombardi. "Assisted Procreation And Its Relationship To Genetics And Eugenics." Human Reproduction & Genetic Ethics 15.1 (2009): 9-29. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2.1 million married couples experience troubles with infertility. Infertility is defined as trying for over a year and not becoming pregnant for women under 35 and trying for six months for women over 35. The cause of the infertility is a male factor one third of the instances, female another third, ten percent of the cause is a combination of both male and female factors and the remaining twenty percent is not apparent. In vitro fertilization is a process that tries to eliminate the problems inherent in the mother and father. It involves an egg is fer...
Test tube babies have long been stigmatized by society as the unnatural results of scientific dabbling. The words `test tube baby' have been used by school children as an insult, and many adults have seen an artificial means of giving birth as something perhaps only necessary for a lesbian woman, or a luxury item only available to the elite few. The reality is that assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have been helping infertile couples have children since 1978.1 The methods of in vitro fertilization, it's variants, and the other ART procedures are ways for persons that would otherwise have no hope of conception to conceive and, in a rapidly growing percentage of cases, give birth to healthy babies. As the technology has developed, the quality and range of assistance has developed as well. At present, the means of assisted reproduction and the capabilities of these procedures has grown at a somewhat dizzying pace. However, thought to the repercussions of the applications of ART are being disregarded to some extent while the public's knowledge and the understanding of embryologists and geneticists surges forward. It is possible given consideration to things such as the morality of these techniques, the unexplored alternative uses of these procedures, and the potential impact they posses that further development is unnecessary and possibly dangerous.
Aldous Huxley’s dystopian Brave New World is more than a warning against the dangers of technology; it is a prediction for the future that rings eerily true. Today we understand that many of the fantastical devices and practices imagined by Huxley are coming to life. Most notable is the practice of in vitro fertilization, something that was a mad scientist’s dream during Huxley’s time, and is today a commonplace practice. According to the National Institutes of Health, in vitro fertilization is “the joining of a woman’s egg and a man’s sperm in a laboratory dish” (Storck). The procedure was first performed successfully in 1978 and has since become widely used today by couples that desire a child and are unable to conceive by “natural” means.
“Managing Infertility.” USNews.com. Stanford University Medical Center, 31 Mar. 2007. Web. 22 Mar. 2010. .
I do believe the author’s conclusions were warranted given the study’s design. By using the results obtained from this study counselors can determine how to best help clients with various types of infertility issues. As the results of the study revealed the etiology of the infertility could be correlated with the type of stress the client experiences.
"The Costs of Infertility Treatment." RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. Family Building Magazine/WIN Fertility, 2006. Web
Thousands of babies are born each year to couples who may have never been able to conceive on their own. Dr. Robert G. Edwards is given the credit for developing a procedure called in vitro fertilization, which continues to give hope to couples all over the world. The term “in vitro,” broken down, implies that a process occurs outside of a living organism, therefore “in vitro fertilization” simply means fertilization outside of an organism. This groundbreaking accomplishment is what lead Dr. Edwards to being awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. While previous studies had been done on the subject, he was the first to conduct the research necessary to make in vitro fertilization truly possible, and with help from Patrick Steptoe,