Biomedical Ethics

Biomedical Ethics

Jeff
June 20th 2010
Prof. Simpson
Biomedical Ethics

In Vitro Fertilization

In vitro fertilization or (IVF) is the process in which female egg cells are fertilized outside of the mother’s body due to conception being impossible by normal sexual intercourse. There are several factors that can affect if a woman is able to become pregnant or not. There are many who believe that IVF is immorally unstable but while those people have their views, others may not find any harm in undergoing this process. Although this process can be highly beneficial for couples who are unable to reproduce, there will always be controversy regarding the condition of the fetus/child. It has been debatable if in vitro fertilization should be illegal and if it is ethical or not. While there are numerous amounts of positive outlooks, there are great amounts that sharply lean downward. In addition to this, it is important that the mother/caretaker is in a rational state of mind before engaging in such a life altering process no matter what the outcome will turn out to be.
Pregnancy can only occur when both the male and female reproductive organs are fully functional. In this case, they are not. As a result, a child is unable to be conceived. After engaging in sexual intercourse, the male’s sperm is supposed to swim upward through the uterus and into the fallopian tube. The female’s egg then becomes fertilized. After the egg is fertilized, it slowly makes its way down the fallopian tube. During this stage, the sperm has become an embryo. It waits until it develops into a fetus. Soon enough, the fetus is able to feed off of the nutrients and oxygen that the uterus provides for it. This is how a normal pregnancy occurs and anything besides this is an abnormal pregnancy.
There are key factors that surround both male and female reproductive organs. The slightest abnormality is able to alter if the child will be born or not. One of the main reasons that pregnancy may not function...