In Vitro :: essays research papers

In Vitro Fertilization   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In vitro fertilization is a technique used to fertilize an egg outside of the woman’s body, usually done because of the failure of conception with normal sexual intercourse. For pregnancy to occur, a sperm must unite with an egg released from the ovary during sexual intercourse. Normally this joining, called fertilization, happens within the fallopian tube, which joins the ovary to the uterus. However, in some situations natural conception cannot occur because of factors affecting the couples’ fertility. In Vitro fertilization permits for the amalgamation of the male sperm cell and the female egg to happen in a laboratory instead of taking place in the fallopian tubes where this process would ordinarily happen. When looking at in vitro it seems to be a blessing to couples that cannot have children on their own. It seems to be a way for science to triumph over nature. But in that description lays the controversy. To some this procedure is a life givin g miracle that provides an opportunity for couples, who are by any other means unable to conceive a child, a second chance at bringing life into this world. While others would argue the ethical point claiming that this process is just a cover for infanticide and causing humans to play God. The moral question that arises from this procedure is: in allowing or assisting sperm to penetrate an egg when without help it would have otherwise not been able to do so, are we unnaturally, by human machination, over-riding one of nature’s barricades to inhibit fertilization? Also, if there is some sort of natural check and a reason that certain sperm fail to reach the egg, could it possible be for good reason that they do not? Is it possible that the sperm is ineffective because it obtains some genetic defect that would cause the child some form of inherited disease or some other deficiency? In other words, maybe there is some sort of natural or God-given rationale for filtering out some sperm. If this is true then we could be risking the possibility of manufacturing deformities and inherited diseases by assisting in the overcoming of a theological barrier.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The process of IVF involves five major steps: the first step being the monitoring of the development of the follicles in the woman’s ovaries. The second is aspiration of the follicle’s contents and identification of the eggs.