In Vitro Fertilization

It would perhaps be worth beginning with a description of what in vitro fertilization actually is. The process begins with the woman being prescribed fertility medications in order to stimulate the production of eggs in the ovaries; the eggs are then retrieved by doctors. Then the man produces a sample of his sperm. The crucial step of the process is described by the American Pregnancy Association in the following way: "In a process called insemination, the sperm and eggs are mixed together and stored in a laboratory to encourage fertilization. The eggs are monitored to confirm that fertilization and cell division are taking place.

That is why another name for offspring produced through in vitro fertilization is “test tube babies” because the embryo of this offspring is artificially grown outside the mother’s womb in a Petri Dish. This reproduction assistant technology is practiced on patients who have sexual problems such as endometriosis, ovulation problems, failure of IUI and male factor infertility. The first ever test tube babies born through in vitro fertilization is Louise Brown, who was born in 1978 in England. There are mainly five steps during the process of in vitro fertilization. First, the female patients go through a process ovulation induction where medical hormones are prescribed and given to the female patient fo... ... middle of paper ... ...n, and there are also people who think that life begin when the sperm fertilizes the egg.

(retrieved on June 12, 2011, from www.medterms.com) IVF was originally devised to permit women with damaged or absent Fallopian tubes to have a baby. Normally a mature egg is released from the ovary (ovulated), then enters the Fallopian tube, and waits in the neck of the tube for a sperm to fertilize it. With defective Fallopian tubes, this is not possible. In vitro fertilization literally means "fertilization in glass." A child born by in vitro fertilization is inaccurately known a "test tube baby."

To some this procedure is a life giving miracle that provides an opportunity for couples, who are by any other means unable to conceive a child, a second chance at bringing life into this world. While others would argue the ethical point claiming that this process is just a cover for infanticide and causing humans to play God. The moral question that arises from this procedure is: in allowing or assisting sperm to penetrate an egg when without help it would have otherwise not been able to do so, are we unnaturally, by human machination, over-riding one of nature’s barricades to inhibit fertilization? Also, if there is some sort of natural check and a reason that certain sperm fail to reach the egg, could it possible be for good reason that they do not? Is it possible that the sperm is ineffective because it obtains some genetic defect that would cause the child some form of inherited disease or some other deficiency?

The technique of in vitro fertilization or IVF removes several eggs from the ovaries for fertilization in the laboratory. After a few days, one or two of these fertilized eggs which are now known as embryos are returned to the uterus in the hope that they implant and become a pregnancy. Women undergoing IVF are given special reproductive hormones to encourage several eggs to develop in the ovaries. Final maturation of the egg itself is induced by the administration of a further hormone. Thirty-six hours later, the fluid containing the eggs are drawn from the ovary with a needle; this is usually performed under light sedation in a short, outpatient procedure with the doctor using ultra-sound to check proceedings.

Couples who qualify for in-vitro fertilization usually have tried every other possible method before the look in to in-vitro fertilization. These people are considered infertile. Someone who is infertile is said to have the inability to become pregnant after one year of unprotected sexual intercourse. (eMedicinehealth, 2005) Some of these things are fertility drugs and therapy. Doctors will also look at the probability that you will actually be able to conceive a child if you decide to go through in-vitro fertilization.

The first step in the process is the ovarian stimulation. This step involves drugs. The hormone that’s taken over 8-14 days, fuels and stimulates the ovaries to produce more than one egg each cycle (The In Vitro Process). IVF requires several eggs because there is a chance that some eggs might not develop fine after fertilization. After that, the doctor will use ultrasound or he will test the blood in order to decide when it is necessary for him to take out the eggs.

The process for in vitro fertilization involves stimulating multiple follicles and eggs to develop over time. There are 5 steps in this process stimulation, egg retrieval, fertilizing the eggs in the laboratory, culturing the embryo, and embryo transfer to the uterus (A.D.A.M Board, 2012). In the stimulation process both partners perform screening test. Before injection, the female should have a testing of “ovarian reserve”. The medication is given to help ripen the eggs to start a process called ovulation.

When considering how In Vitro Fertilization lines up with the natural order of things, there are multiple similarities. With human reproduction, the uniting of a sperm and egg within a female’s body begins the process for a new individual. During the process of IVF, the uniting of the sperm and egg just takes place outside of the body, monitored by medical professionals. For those that do not believe life and moral importance begin at conception, there is an attitude that it is “‘absolutely fine to discard embryos’ because they have no central nervous system, feeling of pain, consciousness, concept of their own identity, or any interest in their own future existence” (Ehrich). This view of the embryo really simplifies the issues dealt with during In Vitro Fertilization because it takes away any responsibility to the embryo as a valuable life and turns it into a work object (Ehrich).

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a procedure in which an egg (oocyte) from a woman’s ovaries is removed and separately fertilized with male sperm in a laboratory before being implanted into the woman’s fallopian tubes. 1 2 The first stage of IVF is called superovulation. Follicles are structures within which the oocyte develops, in order to retrieve multiple follicles several hormone and drug combinations are administered. Consequently, the ovary stops function and allows the follicles to ripen at the same time when stimulated therefore providing an increased number of eggs to harvest. Follicles are considered mature after 8 to 9 days and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is administered which enables the final maturation of the oocytes.3 Oocyte retrieval occurs through a procedure called ultrasound guided vaginal retrieval.