Science is like a never ending flow of river. It keeps on updating, renovating and reinventing itself every moment and delights us with new sophisticated technology which provides us the options which never existed before. But the fact that a certain procedure is technologically possible does not make it ethically right. There are some speed breakers where we should stop and analyze about the deep social impact of the latest developed technology before embracing it with open arms. In vitro fertilization technique is such a double edged sword. Here I have focused on some of the important ethical issues which compel us to think to draw a boundary on the random application of the useful technologies. Introduction The new reproductive technologies have spawned new ethical concerns. These are controversial subjects, which have attracted wide media attention and public debate. Allegorical work of Huxley “Brave New World” has become almost prophetic in some of its dire predictions about in vitro fertilization and cloning. However, the law and public opinion all over the world have lagged behind the advances in artificial conception which have created a “brave new world” of possibilities of giving birth, never before considered possible - using a mix and match combination of sperms, eggs and uteri.Infertility sometimes play havoc on a couple's life and compel them to see themselves as a failure to” 'be fruitful and multiply'. According to the National Center of Health Statistics and the World Health Organization (WHO) between 8-10% of couples in the industrialized countries have reproductive problems. As problems of infertility and sterility become more common, people are turning to science for solutions and no amount of failures can deter them from trying any possible mean of satisfying their creative urge, the urge of giving birth that is deeply entrenched in their hearts as it has been rightly said that “Three things are never satisfied; four never say, “Enough”: Sheol, the barren womb, the earth ever thirsty for water, and the fire that never says, “Enough.” After the initial enthusiasm, however, in many European countries society realized that, concomitant with the great advances, limitations had to be established. From the beginning of this new therapeutic approach, Edwards [1], who was the pioneer of art, emphasized the importance of resolving the ethical issues involved. Since 1978, when the world's first in vitro fertilization (IVF) baby Louise Brown was born with the expertise and assistance of Drs. Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards, the world has seen a rapidly increasing array of assisted reproductive technologies (ART). In 2001, >270 000 cycles of clinical infertility treatments occurred in Europe alone (ESHRE, 2005). With trends through out the globe toward more women working, later marriages and delayed child bearing, more couples desiring children are discovering that they cannot conceive naturally. As IVF becomes more successful, more accessible, and perhaps less expensive, more couples will consider the option of initiating pregnancy through the use of this technology. The original fear that babies fertilized in vitro would be abnormal, has not been substantiated by the early statistics and concerns now center on the complex philosophical, religious, legal and social issues surrounding the use of assisted reproduction. The increasing availability of assisted reproduction technology during the past 20 years has received a lot of public attention because of the ethical implications and thus needs to be scrutinized carefully,The process of IVFWhen couples are unable to achieve coital pregnancy, they often turn to assisted reproductive technologies. A popular assisted reproductive technology is in vitro fertilization (IVF).In the simplest case, a woman is given a course of hormone treatments to cause her ovaries to produce multiple eggs. The eggs are surgically removed just prior to ovulation. They are then placed in a
展开▼
