Chapter 10 Part 1 Fertility Research Part 1

All about fertility research - an introduction

1. Fertility Research Chapter 10: Part 1 – RIGHT TO LIVE

2. A true story… A married couple, unable to bear a child by natural means, produce three test-tube embryos through the process of in vitro fertilization. When implanted in the wife's womb, the first embryo fails. The two others are frozen for future use, but before they can be implanted the husband and wife are killed in a plane crash… Legal questions abound. Can the orphan embryos be destroyed, or have they become frozen souls with the panoply of rights accorded human beings? Must they be implanted in another woman and, if possible, carried to term? If they are born, who are their legal parents, and what are their inheritance rights?

3. IVF – The most common fertility treatment

4. Costa Rica , the only country that prohibits IVF

5. “There is no way to do IVF without losing embryo”

6. Ethical Issues of Fertility Treatment Discarding Embryo which are not chosen for implantation is considered as loss of life , as embryo is a form of life. Procedure itself is against the law of nature/ religious view – Only God has the power to decide who to live. Researchers might misuse the fertilized eggs for other illegal researches e.g. to clone human/ to create hybrid Cost is usually high – some companies might develop a cheaper method to meet the demand, safety and effectiveness is likely to be compromised 

7. Regulatory body to avoid/ minimize ethical complications in fertility treatment

8. The Embryonic Right

9. HFEA UK's independent regulator overseeing the use of gametes and embryos in fertility treatment and research Issue license to types of fertility treatments involving human embryo Why is this important? http://www.hfea.gov.uk/161.html

10. Research purposes Increasing knowledge about serious disease or other serious conditions. Developing treatments for serious diseases or other serious medical conditions. Increasing knowledge about the causes of congenital diseases. Promoting the advances in the treatment of infertility. Increasing knowledge about the causes of miscarriages . Developing more efficient techniques of contraception. Developing methods for detecting gene, chromosome or mitochondrion abnormalities in embryos before implantation. Increasing knowledge about the development of embryos.