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The eggs Betty McCollister
The term in vitro, from the Latin meaning in glass, is used, because early biological experiments involving cultivation of tissues outside the living organism from which they came, were carried out in glass containers such as beakers, test tubes, or petri dishes.
Today, the term in vitro is used to refer to any biological procedure that is performed outside the organism it would normally be occurring in, to distinguish it from an in vivo procedure, where the tissue remains inside the living organism within which it is normally found. A colloquial term for babies conceived as the result of IVF, "test tube babies", refers to the tube-shaped containers of glass or plastic resin, called test tubes, that are commonly used in chemistry labs and biology labs.
IVF was used successfully for the first time in the United States in 1981. More than 250,000 babies have been born since then as a result of using the in vitro fertilization technique. IVF offers infertile couples a chance to have a child who is biologically related to them.
With IVF, a method of assisted reproduction, a man's sperm and the woman's egg are combined in a laboratory dish, where fertilization occurs. The resulting embryo is then transferred to the woman's uterus (womb) to implant and develop naturally. Usually, 2-4 embryos are placed in the woman's uterus at one time. Each attempt is called a cycle.
The term test tube baby is often used to refer to children conceived with this technique. The first so-called test tube baby, Louise Brown, reached age 25 years in 2003. She was born in England.
Current state of the industry • Many people do not oppose the IVF practice itself (ie. the creating of a pregnancy through "artificial" ways) but are highly critical of the current state of the present day industry. Such individuals argue that the industry has now become a multi-billion industry, which is widely unregulated and prone to serious abuses in the desire of practitioners to obtain profit.
Current state of the industry • The industry has been accused of making unscientific claims, and distorting facts relating to infertility, in particular through widely exaggerated claims about how common infertility is in society, in an attempt to get as many couples as possible and as soon as possible to try treatments (rather than trying to conceive naturally for a longer time).
Legal status • Government agencies in China passed bans on the use of IVF in 2003 by unmarried women or by couples with certain infectious diseases. • The US state of Tennessee proposed a bill in 2009 that would have defined donor IVF as adoption. During the same session another bill proposed barring adoption from any unmarried and cohabitating couple, and activist groups stated that passing the first bill would effectively stop unmarried people from using IVF. Neither of these bills passed.
World Leaders in IVF • Israel is the world capital of in vitro fertilisation, with 1,657 in vitro fertilisation procedures being performed, per million people per year. The second highest rate of IVF procedures is in Iceland, with 899 procedures being performed respectively. The United States falls far behind the aforementioned, as well as other European countries, with only 126 procedures being performed per million people per year. Another noteworthy fact is that Israel provides free, unlimited in vitro procedures for its citizens for up to 2 children per woman, under 45 years of age.
The Ethics of In Vitro Fertilization • Biologically, a human embryo is a living human being at its earliest stage of development. The embryo is dependent on a woman for nurture and life, but it is a genetically distinct organism, different from both the egg and sperm that it grew from, and it needs nothing more than nourishment to grow into a recognizable human being — a point on which both science and Christianity agree. • Therefore, some argue that the destruction of embryos in the IVF process requires the destruction of human life in order to create human life.
The Ethics of In Vitro Fertilization • Just as troubling is the fact that IVF encourages the commoditization of human life. Young women, many of them single and in need of cash, are signing up on websites like Egg Donation, Inc., where they post photos of themselves next to their personal profiles, offering their eggs for cash. Typical profiles include details about their likes and dislikes, their ethnic background and their educational level and talents, in addition to such basic facts as height, weight and hair color. Egg purchasers are encouraged to browse the site in search of the perfect set of qualities for the child they hope to bear.
Ethical Questions At what point should pre-embryos/embryos be considered to have human rights? Is "creating", discarding, freezing, or manipulating them right? Should single women be allowed access to IVF in order to have children? Is there a need for a father? Should homosexual male or female couples be allowed access to IVF treatment in order to have children?
Who should be responsible for funding IVF? Patients? Insurance companies? Healthcare systems? How long should embryos be allowed to be frozen? If they go past that time should they be destroyed? Should frozen embryos be destroyed if patients stop paying the storage fees?
Cloning and Stem cells • Is there ever a case where human reproductive cloning is acceptable? The production of a new life? Replacing a dead child? • Is it OK to use cloning technology to create stem cells to help cure disease? • Should cloning research be regulated? Who should police it? Can this be achieved on a global basis? • What are the physical and psychosocial consequences of cloning on the child? What is the impact on familial and societal relations? What will be the potential effects on the human gene pool?
