Extend Fertility Analysis

Mr. Szafranski is appealing a decision made by the Circuit Court of Cook County in which the court sided with ex-girlfriend Karla Dunston concerning a dispute over the disposition of cryopreserved pre-embryos that were created when Mr. Szafranki donated his sperm and Ms. Dunston donated her ova in light of Ms. Dunston having been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and having been informed that her chemotherapy treatments would likely render her infertile. Mr. Szafranski is asking the Appellate Court to enjoin Ms. Dunston from using those pre-embryos.

Christy chose this industry from listening to her inner voice and needs. She devoted herself to her career and passed the peak time of fertility. She was trying to find a way to balance having a career and a family. Reading of Hewlett’s book and discussion with Christy’s friends about fertility treatment inspired Christy brought her interest in digging in the fertility industry. At that time, some medical research center started to offer freezing egg services to cancer patient before chemotherapy. Christy thought this technology could benefit professional women who often delay on serious relationships,

These changes are affecting girls' attitudes towards education in a number of ways as increased numbers of female-headed lone-parent families may mean more women need to take on the major 'bread winner' role. This further creates a new financially independent, career-minded role model for girls. The need for good qualifications is made very clear and the girls aspirations tend to require academic effort. Becky Francis points out that boys are more likely to have career aspirations that are not only unrealistic but often require few formal qualifications, e.g. professional footballer.

The more popular and developing method of treatment is egg freezing. During this procedure they take an embryo and freeze it for a month before they place it in a uterus to be later fertilized (Maher). This method was first used for cancer patients. Cancer treatments, like chemotherapy, can damage the ovaries and make it almost impossible for chemo patients to reproduce. Doctors do this procedure by taking an ovary, from the patient before they start their cancer treatments, and slicing it into strips before they freeze it (Though Experimental, Ovarian Tissue Transplants Can Help Some Women Have Children)(see figure 1).

Kass, a case dealing with one party objecting the use of frozen genetic material to achieve pregnancy of another party, as an introduction for his article. Providing the facts of this controversial issue works very well in setting up the content of his article for the interest of his reader. Other cases he repeatedly refers to are the Hecht v. Superior Court, Davis v. Davis, and the Buzzanca surrogacy case. By using these court cases as examples, McKee is able to provide unbiased facts as support in the content of his article.

Annie Dillard discusses a variety of big questions throughout her analysis of the horrors of “fecundity” in Chapter 10 - “Is there a value of life?” and “What if God has the same affectionate disregard for us that we have for barnacles?” are two I have found. Dillard analyzes the “value” by contemplating the grotesque nature of fecundity, writing, “I suppose it is the teeming evidence that birth and growth, which we value, are ubiquitous and blind that life itself is so astonishingly cheap, that nature is as careless as it is bountiful and that with extravagance goes a crushing waste that will one day include our own cheap lives” First, Dillard argues that nature proves life is cheap by using supporting evidence like that of aphids, who may

Only twenty years ago, embryo freezing (cryopreservation) was considered a technique that raised “disturbing,” “extremely difficult,” “incredibly complex,” and even “nightmarish” ethical issues. Currently, however, at least 41 of the 169 infertility clinics in the United States have begun to implement in vitro fertilization protocols (IVF) (Freemann et al., 1986). The number of frozen embryos in this country nearly tripled, from 289 to 824, between 1985 and 1986 (Van Steirteghem and Van Den Abbel, 1988). An estimated ten infants in the U.S. and sixty in the world were born as of 1988 after having been frozen as embryos. The government and professional advisory groups have endorsed embryo

This article discusses the first two test tube babies meeting each other at a fertility conference. Through this, it displays how two of the first humans produced by this technology can bond over something such as their specialized births and what "life growing up in the spotlight has been like" (Simpson). The recognition of this event as a medical breakthrough helps to portray the importance of further advancement within this technology. As time continues so does the need to keep up with the new and upcoming technologies, and this article shows the importance of furthering the technology of IVF. The online article analyzed for the resolution of this topic was a book review in Louise Brown's autobiography. The review chose to focus on analyzing the parents of the first test tube baby opposed to the birth itself. This article states the negative effects IVF has had on the world and how it coincides with religion and moral beliefs. The review is very clearly against Louise Brown and what she has to say about the advancement that was her birth. Throughout the review, the author fails to include a counter argument for their

In this case study a couple by the name of Michelle and Brian Clifford decided to conceive a child after a few years of the marriage. After five years of trying with no results they consulted a fertility expert and it was found that Michelle was unable to have children naturally so they decided to try IVF treatments. Michelle’s eggs were harvested and introduced to Brain’s sperm in the laboratory. After a few days four embryos were implanted into Michelle and the other seven were placed in a freezer for further use. The first IVF procedure was unsuccessful and during the following years of the IVF treatments Michelle’s and Brian were having marital issues. They filed for divorce and Brian wanted to donate the embryos for research and Michelle

Studies have shown that “Education attainment has a significant impact on earnings levels throughout a worker’s life. Differences in educational [acquirement] across these groups, among other factors, will cause the wage and pension gaps among these groups to persist.” (“Futurework - Trends and Challenges for Work in the 21st Century). Astonishingly as a matter of fact, a woman needs four more years of education than a man on any graduation level to obtain the same income as that man. For example, if a guy only procured his high school diploma, a gal would need an additional four years of education after her procured high school diploma to reap the same amount of money that that guy will gain for a job! Since women are starting to get more education, their occupation availability will grow, although they are expected to leave their job to assume the lead role in child rearing. According to Futurework reports, ”Young women enrolled in college at higher rates than young men … a trend likely to help close the gap between women’s and men’s average earnings.” (“Futurework - Trends and Challenges for Work in the 21st Century - U.S. DOL.” paragraph 16.) As rewards for education continue to be beneficial, the trend of enrollment in colleges and universities will rise and be maintained. And again, with the impending of college and university enrollment and graduation of broads,

Women also had to live up to their family heritage and what their family’s thoughts were of a woman in the workforce. Some women felt that family issues had delayed the dawn of their careers. Barbara White, in Women’s Career Development, describes these women as late starters. Late starters are women who have been held back because of other commitments, beliefs or opinions. Some of today’s ‘profssionals’ made late commitments to their careers. Thirty-one percent decided that they would work at an early age because of family morals and traditions (White, 104).

Women’s role has significantly changed in today’s world. Back in the 1950s, women were viewed as dedicated housewives whose only goal was to meet the pleasures of their and husband and children’s. Society believed these were the only role for women. During this time, a husband was considered far more important than a degree. In fact, women who chose to work and earn their own money were considered selfish. The number of girls who entered college dropped during the 50s. Many women left college early to marry after World War II and other women who stayed were not planning on working toward a job. Beginning in the 1960s and last 70s, deep cultural changes were altering the role of women in the U.S society. More females than ever began entering into the workforce back in which the only jobs available for them away from their homes were teachers, secretaries, nurses etc.

An issue that has caused great legal debate is the freezing of eggs and embryos. Freezing allows savings eggs or embryos for later implantation; not all are used. However, frozen embryos and eggs generally have a lower success rate. The question arises of what happens to them if the couple decides to divorce, or one or both of them dies? These situations have been decided through court determinations. In 1987, the status of frozen embryos was brought before the Victorian courts with the case of Mr and Mrs Rios, who had died in a plane crash. The embryos from Mr and Mrs Rios had been frozen in 1981. There were many ethical and moral concerns regarding this case. Should the embryos remain frozen indefinitely, be donated, or kept for research? The Infertility (Medical Procedures) Act

“The methods used to obtain eggs have put egg donation in the spotlight, especially the issue of compensating women for their eggs.” (Chapter Preface)

Artificial reproductive technology (ART) is defined as procedures which stimulate a woman 's ovaries to produce eggs, the eggs are then removed, combined with sperm, and then returned to a woman 's body (Bell, 2016). ART is becoming more and more popular throughout that globe. This method of conceiving children gives women who may be struggling with infertility options that were not possible before the advent of such methods. ART is relevant to the sociological definition of global health because it is evidence of the fact that our world has become interdependent especially when it comes to medical technology. However with ART comes the notion of the culture of disguise and in many countries this is an integral part of artificial reproductive technology process. With that being said, sociologists should look to study and understand the culture of disguise in ART as it pertains to global health and it shapes interactions between people and the society they live in.