Posts Tagged ‘Reproductive’
Reporting on IVF Incidents
In the United Kingdom, patients pay for 60 percent of the 76,000 annual in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments rendered. Britain’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the regulatory body overseeing both fertility treatment and embryo research, released in December its State of the Fertility Sector: 2016-17, a report detailing the health of the fertility sector in the UK.
Read MoreCrossing the Bright Red Line: Editing Human Beings
This blog originally appeared on the Tennessee Center for Bioethics and Culture blog. It is being republished with permission. For more information, visit www.tennesseecbc.org.
Read MoreLife—Artificial or Natural?
There continue to be reports of new attempts to create life, sometimes labeled “synthetic” or “artificial” because the entity is not created the old-fashioned way, i.e., by fertilization of an egg with a sperm. The most recent report involved combining two different types of stem cells to form an embryo-like structure that was labeled “artificial.”
Read MoreApplying Pressure to the 14-Day Rule
Conducting research on embryos beyond 14 days’ gestation is against the law in 12 countries, including the United Kingdom; the U.S. has only “guidelines” recommending the 14-day limit. Now researchers and others are pushing against that limit. They find it too confining. Where did this rule/guideline originate?
Read MoreApplying Pressure to the 14-Day Rule
Conducting research on embryos beyond 14 days’ gestation is against the law in 12 countries, including the United Kingdom; the U.S. has only “guidelines” recommending the 14-day limit. Now researchers and others are pushing against that limit. They find it too confining. Where did this rule/guideline originate?
Read MoreArtificial Wombs and Modern Incubators
Sometimes what seems like science fiction can actually be science fact, and sometimes new technologies can have the potential for both good and bad uses. So-called “dual-use technology” is most often thought of in connection with potential military as well as civilian use, e.g., weaponized forms of viruses or bacteria vs. using such altered pathogens for vaccine development.
Read MoreTechno-Babies: Some Assembly Required?
Science fiction is no longer fiction—the first three-parent baby was born a few months ago. Last month in The Point, Dr. Robert E. Cranston raised a series of important questions about the safety and ethics of the technique; now more information—and more questions—have arisen. As a reminder, the concept of creating a baby with three parents came as a proposal to “treat” individuals with mitochondrial genetic diseases, i.e., mutations in the mitochondrial DNA that lead to sometimes lethal physiological problems.
Read MoreIVF and Aging Parents
On April 19, 2016, Mohinder Singh Gill, age 79, and his wife Dajinder Kaur, 72, gave birth to their first child. Kaur, long past menopause, and Gill conceived their child with the help of Dr. Anurag Bishnoi’s IVF Clinic, reportedly employing their own egg and sperm.
Read MoreA Fragile Gift
Two years into their marriage, CMDA member Dr. Adam Lewis and his wife, Kim, decided it was time to have children. Their high hopes soon descended into desperation, an experience shared by over two million couples in America who face the challenges of infertility.
Read MoreWe’ve Come a Long Way, Baby(ies)!
Today’s Christian Doctor – Fall 2015
After lots of prayer and planning, the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) opened its doors in 2003 with a vision to become a leader in embryo donation and embryo adoption. Now, just 12 years later, they are celebrating the momentous arrival of their 500th baby and the NEDC is the leading comprehensive non-profit embryo donation program in the U.S., with more pregnancies through embryo adoption than any other like-minded program.
Why Human Bioenhancement Technologies Are a Bad Idea
Human beings are almost obsessive innovators. Homo sapiens (knower) is by nature Homo faber (fabricator). Thank God He has made us so. Life without what Michael Novak has called “the fire of invention” would be nasty, bloody, and brutish. Medicine and biotechnology are two spheres where innovation is especially rewarded. So it is no surprise that we contemplate the possibility of human biological enhancements.
Read MoreSpecial Transfer from Heaven: Embryo Adoption: One Family’s Story
When Lee and I were married in 1984 we thought 12 children would be a good number for our family. We further decided that ours would be “God blended” of six biological and six adopted Klopfensteins. However, as is always the case, God was in control and after some years of infertility, it became apparent that it was time to pursue the first adoption.
Read MoreNational Embryo Donation Center
Many couples who have used reproductive technology in an effort to have children are faced with the daunting dilemma of what to do with remaining embryos that will not be implanted and brought to birth. These so-called “excess” embryos are being targeted for destruction by researchers who promise miracle cures. On the other side of the equation are over two million infertile couples who desire to have children.
Read MoreWhen Do You Become You?
The debate over the status of pre-born humans has become clouded due to the redefinition of certain terms over the past few decades. Biological advances, including the destruction of embryos to obtain embryonic stem cells have also heightened the ethical dilemma. However, human life remains worthy of protection from the moment of its individual uniqueness—fertilization.
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