Pros And Cons Of Assisted Reproductive Technology

The topic of cloning has brought much debate in science and also in society. Many

Over the past decade, advances in assisted reproductive technology (ART) including such procedures as in vitro fertilization (IVF) have reduced the obstacles to conception for women with infertility issues, particularly for women of advanced maternal age. Each state is now facing the dilemma of whether or not to mandate coverage of ART for their constituents. Furthermore, the state must decide what the qualifications for coverage should be if a mandate is to be enacted. RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association, a

Chile's health system has been evolving rapidly in recent years. The assigned role of the Chilean Medical Association has focused on medical ethics codes, and laws. Social organizations have emerged during the last decade and have been working together with the Chilean Fertility Society to change public health policies and attitudes in order to increase the access of people to modern reproductive technology. The current government has passed the August Law which decriminalizes abortion under three circumstances, the government also signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which establishes safe healthcare as a human right.(6) “Today, women have won, democracy has won, all of Chile has won,” said Bachelet(2). On the other hand, Reproductive technology, assisted reproductive technology (ART), is utilized but faces opposition from factors of social-religious conservatism, and gender-based discrimination. While reproductive technologies can be accessed by those who can afford out of pocket funding, most of the population relies on public healthcare, resulting in less than 4% of the population receiving treatment.(5) In this sense, more research of reproductive technologies, specifically mitochondrial transfer, should be reliant on biomedical research of genetic on bioethical levels, as gene therapy is authorized only for the purpose of treating diseases or preventing their appearance(4). In this sense, the mitochondrial

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

New technological advances and scientific methods continue to change the course of nature. One of the current controversial advances in science and technology is the use of genetically modified embryos in which the study exceeds stem cell research. Scientists have begun planning for research involving human embryos in the genetic modification field. Many technological developments are responsible for improving our living standards and even saving lives, but often such accomplishments have troubling cultural and moral ramifications (Reagan, 2015). We are already beyond the days in which virtually the only procreative option was for a man and a woman to conceive the old-fashioned way (Reagan, 2015). Genetic modification of human embryos can be perceived as a positive evolution in the medical process yet it is surrounded by controversy due to ethical processes. Because this form of genetic modification could affect later born children and their offspring, the protection of human subjects should be a priority in decisions about whether to proceed with such research (Dresser, 2004). The term Human Genetic Engineering was originally made public in 1970. During this time there were several methods biologists began to devise in order to better identify or isolate clone genes for manipulation in several species or mutating them in humans.

The principles of ethics can assist in finding a middle ground on reproductive technologies by forcing the healthcare provider to consider first the patient and their well-being above all else, yet keeping in consideration the benefits and morality of the care they are giving. More often than not, there are more than two sides to every argument, especially when it comes to the latest reproductive technologies. “To obtain justifiable resolutions of these

What is more, cloning a child could produce a tissue match for treatment of a life-threatening disease. Also, two lesbians could elect to have a child by adult DNA cloning rather than by artificial insemination by a man's sperm. Each would then contribute part of her body to the fertilized ovum, one woman would donate the ovum, which contains some genetic material in its mitochondria, the other woman the nuclear genetic material. Both would have parts of their bodies involved in the conception. They might find this more satisfactory than in-vitro fertilization using a man's sperm.

If they use nothing for embryos then they should use it for the researches which will contribute a cure for many diseases and they might “contribute new knowledge to how to improve the success rates of thawing embryos.” (Karen Synesiou) But research are very expensive who is going to pay for all the cost. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Assisted reproductive technology, or ART is a treatment that is used to help infertile women. This is a treatment that extracts a women’s egg and mixes it with a man’s sperm. This process helps make an embryo. The embryo is made and placed by into the woman. Vitro fertilization is a type of assisted reproductive technology that is more commonly used. These techniques are often done with donors or surrogates. This type of technology can be a gift for families who want a child naturally but can’t produce them, but is this really a good thing to get done?

Pregnancy is something that any woman in “good” reproductive health can theoretically experience. Many people, however, are faced with infertility, or the inability to become pregnant. Infertility is a condition that affects approximately 15% of couples worldwide, with nearly seven million infertile couples in the United States alone. With new assisted reproductive technologies many of these couples are now able to give birth to biological children. Infertility treatments are often seen as a Godsend for couples who thought they would never be able to become parents. However, both society and the medical community at large are overlooking the ethical and medical problems associated with using infertility treatments. Society sees these

The process behind reproduction has been taken for granted since the time of Gregor Mendel. “The two ‘gametes’ (female egg and male sperm) combine to form a one-celled embryo (technically known as a zygote), which divides and divides again in careful choreography to form an embryo, which grows and unfolds to become a facsimile, or near facsimile, of its parents, combining features of both” (Tudge, 51). InVitro fertilization then becomes the basics of combining egg and sperm, a concept that would be understood by those of Mendel’s time. As the technology advances and the controversy develops, the question of whether there is an ethical distinction between preventing genetic diseases and enhancing traits comes to the discretion of the public.

Infertile couples can use cloning techniques to have a child, but some argue that this is an unethical practice. “The fact that people are already inventing -and endorsing- such scenarios demonstrates the corrosive magic this technology works on the notion of human dignity” (Kontorovich 30). Kontorovich argues that cloning will make us treat cloned humans as manufactured goods, take out the humanity of human reproduction and that in doing so it will rob humans of something that cannot be replaced through artificial means (28-29). People argue that infertile couples should consider other alternatives to increase the size of their family, like adoption, but there are couples that prefer having children with their own genes in the child's genome. Many who are against stem cell research also argue that scientists are killing human beings, however, this is not the case, stem cells have not had the opportunity to develop into a human being when they are harvested to be used for stem cell research. If the stem cells were allowed to develop for a longer period of time they would eventually develop into a human being, but they are not a human being when these are used for research. To address all the ethical oppositions to human cloning, Dehainaut claims, that “US congressional representatives have already announced that they will soon introduce legislation to put strict limits on cloning” (34).

When a husband and wife want to have a child, but one or both of them are infertile, they must use alternatives to normal reproduction. In vitro fertilization, most commonly known as I.V.F., is the approach of removing the eggs from a fertile healthy female and the infertile female’s ovaries, removing the nucleic materials from the healthy female’s eggs and placing them into the infertile female’s eggs. Then they take the sperm from the male’s gonads, and then they are transfused inside of the glass science dish called a Petri dish. All of which is usually happening in a laboratory or in a safe environment where the egg can be fertilized by the sperm without being exposed to the outside air. Because in vitro fertilization is still under scrutiny by the FDA and has yet to be accepted, it is considered illegal, although even if an infertile couple wants to go ahead with the illegal act and do in vitro fertilization, it is quite the costly procedure with prices ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 in some

Throughout the years, In-vitro fertilization continues to evolve through uses of and advancement of technology. In-Vitro fertilization treatment can help families who cannot conceive, have damaged fallopian tubes, and women with premature ovarian failures. There are also many disadvantages in the treatment that can lead to multiple pregnancies that risk miscarriages, premature births, and an imbalance of birth weight causing health problems. These disadvantages not only affect the child but can also affect the mother mental, physical and psychological problems. IVF treatment is an ethical issue that can lead to many risks that cannot guarantee a healthy child, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and affect women physically and emotionally.

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.