In vitro fertilization (IVF) is nothing new in the realm of reproductive medicin

Question

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is nothing new in the realm of reproductive medicine. However, there continues to be much debate over its use. In most of IVF cases, one of two partners is infertile and can choose a sperm or egg donor to unite with their own viable sperm or eggs.  Some of the resulting embryos are implanted in the hopes of impregnating a woman. The parents can then choose to freeze the “extra” embryos or have them destroyed. As you can imagine, the fate of these embryos is just one of the points of contention and some agencies have responded by matching up frozen embryos with other infertile couples.

In 2006, The Abraham Center of Life began offering embryos created entirely from donor eggs and sperm, thus creating the first human embryo bank. The screening process required that donors have clean medical histories and that sperm donors have at least a college degree (though most held doctorates). In 2007, The Abraham Center of Life stopped offering this service of their own volition. A review by the FDA found that the company was in no way violating any regulations.

On January 26, 2009, Nadya Suleman gave birth to octuplets (conceived via IVF) in California. Reactions to the birth ranged from amazement and sympathy to disappointment and animosity, especially as personal details of the mother were discovered. A whole new wave of debate over IVF has been sparked by this situation and, subsequently, a number of states are proposing legislative changes that will affect reproductive medicine in this country. On March 12, 2009, Georgia passed a bill defining how an embryo can be created and that the purpose for doing so must be for infertility. In addition, a California bill (SB 674) would place all fertility and cosmetic surgery practices under the regulatory control of the Medical Board of California. A bill in Missouri (HB 810) would hold fertility doctors responsible for not following guidelines recommended by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

Questions to consider:

How much regulation does there need to be?

Does a woman have a right to choose how many babies she has?

Should IVF only be available to infertile couples?

Would-be parents can choose their sperm donor or egg donor. Is it any different to choose both donors?

Explanation / Answer

IVF is mostly unregulated in the US. The clinics are free to formulate their own policies and procedure standards. Some important factors that need to be regulated and are not addressed include number of children conceived from one donor, the genetic tests performed on embryos, the number of fertilized eggs placed back in the mother.

In 2002, a uniform percentage act was passed, it's not a law but its a document that models the follows the proceedings of donated sperm, egg and embryos for adoption. According to this act, the donor is not the legal parent of the child, consent from both the intended mother and father are necessary for writing. But if they don't sign a document its not a legal case anyway. During first 2 years of the baby, the parents need to be next to the child and in the case of a divorce before any such implementation, the former father is not considered as a legal father.

However, there are many states in the US who do not follow this rule or do not follow any rules in case of IVF.

Yes, women can choose to have more than one baby during IVF because its a laboratory procedure and its completely the choice of the parent and the practitioner.

IVF is not exclusive to infertile couples, there are a whole lot of people benefitting from IVF which include a same-gender couple, single parents, or if only one of the couple is fertile.

The identity of the donor remains confidential, however, the physical appearance that the couple decides to have in their child can be considered before choosing a donor. for eggs. if the couple has blue eyes and wishes to have blue eyes in their child. they can choose a donor egg or sperm who would lead to blue eyes from the donor database. Other factors that are considered include medical history, blood type, donor personality etc.

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