The Concepts of Assisted Reproduction and Premature Infants - Essay Example

? Surrogacy Task: This paper discusses the concepts of assisted reproduction and premature infants. It s that modern living standards and innovation have led to the availability of ideas such as assisted reproduction. It is notable that infertility is a depressing condition for couples and individuals who are suffering from the same. Ethical questions arouse, in this situation, because of the far reaching social, familial and personal implications. The first ethical concern related to aspect of intentions to assisted reproduction. Initially, assisted reproduction was for infertile couples and individuals. In the recent developments, individuals participate in surrogacy to preserve their body image. The second concern related to the concept of informed consent. This is because there are situations of limited knowledge and vulnerability to consent of being sperm donors or surrogate mothers. The other ethical concerns pertain to the concept of children’s identity and parents’ feelings. Additionally, the concept of multiple embryos is an unfair subject because it eliminates other beings from natural survival. The article also addressed the question of premature infants. It was viewable that the foundations are either noble or natural. This mandates the society to save the life of premature infants at all costs. The paper notes that the medical practitioners should make infant treatment decisions because they possess adequate information to the same. Research proves that infertility contributes to significant stress among couples and individuals. It is vital to note that the world has been improving in terms of financial success. This pertains to the freedom of making wealth and enjoying the same. As a result, individuals have improved living standards in several aspects of their lives. In this sense, health care, science and medicine has improved to cater for the needs of the twenty-first century life. The three entities are so interrelated that it becomes difficult to single out the disparities in the same. Innovation, in science, has helped to discover the concept of assisted birth. In spite of improved financial success and living standards, infertility remains an inherent problem through generations. The idea of assisted reproduction helps infertile individuals have children (Porter, 2001). It is vital to note that there is assistance that suits each sex. Sperm donation applies to male infertility while surrogacy applies to infertile mothers. This development raises substantial ethical issues and questions. Ethical questions about sperm, embryo and egg donation arouse complex ethical scenarios to policy makers, social scientist and clinicians because of their intricate and far reaching social, familial and personal implications. In this discussion, it is vital to first examine ethical dilemmas that surround sperm donation and surrogacy. In this perspective, examination of various perspectives to surrogacy is crucial for raising ethical questions. Traditional surrogacy refers to implantation of sperms in another woman’s womb for formation of embryo and eventual maturity. This artificial insemination may be intrauterine or intracervical type. The second type of surrogacy refers to the concept of gestational method whereby an embryo is implanted on another woman’s womb. In this sense, the embryo might be from the intended mother or another woman. It is crucial to note that surrogacy might occur for biological or aesthetic reasons. However, both arrangements occur under legal arrangement. The first ethical concern pertains to the same. In this note, some couples or individuals might disguise themselves as infertile yet they would be conducting the same for aesthetic reasons. It occurs when one partner convinces the other of infertility. In this case, the process abuses the other partner’s right of parenting. Additionally, there are ethical questions that surround the concept of consent to surrogacy. The most confounding aspect of this debate concerns with the idea that those who opt for surrogacy are usually wealthy individuals. In addition, they are informed individuals. This is because surrogacy and sperm donation is an expensive process that individuals opt for under no-emergency situations. It would be comparable to plastic surgery. However, the former has some medical uses other than the aesthetic purposes. In addition, the process of surrogacy, is an intricate and a complicated process that entails significant legal and medical knowledge. In most instances individuals and couples who opt for assisted production have such information before the sperm donors and intended surrogate mothers. This narrows to the concept of informed consent. It regards whether the surrogate mothers have credible consent to their services. In certain situations, surrogate mothers possess inadequate information of the concept of surrogacy and respective legal complications. This means that surrogate mothers exist at the unfavorable ends of legal agreements. In certain situations, uninformed surrogate mothers would consent to implants without having the knowledge of medical complications. Some of these complications pertain to the scenarios of embryos growing in the unintended places. Cases of embryo’s growth in the fallopian tube create pain and may damage the surrogate mother’s womb. In the perspective of knowledge, sperm donors and surrogate mothers may consent to reproduction services without assessing their legal backup in case of accidents. In this case, they may not be aware of their favorable ends to the legal agreements. This relies on the idea that a mutual legal agreement should have adequate benefits to each party in the same. This situation worsens when surrogate mothers consent to the process out of desperation for money. In such situations, they would face underpayment or consent because they are desperate for finances. A typical example concerns with the case of poor surrogate mothers in India. Another ethical concern pertains to the concept of a child that is born out of surrogacy and sperm donation. Assisted reproduction is an attractive idea for a couple whose genetic material is used in the same. On the other hand, such children belong to a blur network of relation. There are stories of stateless children whose genetic parents do not possess rights over them. This leads to a scenario whereby a child possesses a blur nationality, identity or family. In close relation to the same, surrogacy and sperm donation raises the ethical concern of feelings of surrogate parents. This regards the attachment that a surrogate mother develops during pregnancy. It also relates to the feelings of fatherhood due to sperm donation. A sperm donator might feel less worthy out of being robbed of the opportunity to raise one’s child. In a different instance, surrogacy may raise feelings of inadequacy in the intended parents. This question relate to the debate of motherhood as relating to social, gestational or biological orientation. The second question, in this discussion, refers to the concept of multiple embryos or eggs in the womb of surrogate mothers. There is the story of a couple who died in a plane accident. This was after leaving frozen embryos in a clinic. In this sense, a question arises whether these embryos are children or just that? In addition, a dilemma arises out of their ownership. Additionally, a dilemma arises out of whether they should face adoption or killing. Medical practitioners might place multiple embryos in a womb (Porter, 2001). This is usually for the intention of producing the best offspring. It is a concept that scientists and agriculturalists utilize to produce new and improved species out of crops or animals. The first ethical scenario, about the same, regards the idea of whether human beings face a compromise of dignity in this practice. This practice violates the law of natural selection that provides human beings as surviving by nature. In this sense, selective abortion is illegal because it comprises denying a human being the chance of survival. It equals real life extermination of disabled individuals because of the same. On the other hand, it is burdensome to have multiple embryos on a woman’s womb. It is also psychologically stressing, for a mother, to witness elimination of embryos before end of the gestation period. This question triggers more religious than medical concerns. It equals discrimination of individuals as based on their outlook. It also compromises on human dignity as they face treatment that equals that of crops and agricultural animals. It denies the world the chance of having intrinsically resourceful individuals since they face elimination out of their looks. In this sense, it is vital to note that the society should face the burden of raising such children since they are not responsible for choice of their birth methods. The third question regards the concept of premature births. Premature births may occur out of medical decisions or by natural method. Medical decisions are vital in situations whereby a mother is in danger of fertility, death or damage to the womb (Porter, 2001). This makes the concept of premature births as possessing noble foundations. However, there are ethical challenges that surround nurturing of premature infants. To begin with, it is a costly process that pertains nurturing of premature babies in incubators. Additionally, the process, of incubator, may sometimes fail and cause the death of a baby that would have naturally survived. However, it is vital to note that a doctor should make the decision of treating such a child. This is because they possess adequate information about the situation of such children. Additionally, the responsible entities should save the lives of children at all costs. In conclusion, it is vital to note that assisted reproduction has two facets that various individuals perceive in distinct manner. In this article, assisted production is viewable in terms of sperm donation and surrogacy. There are ethical concerns that surround these practices. To begin with, informed consent is a core issue of sperm donation and surrogacy. The paper discusses the same in the aspects of adequate information and vulnerability. In this case, individuals may consent to be surrogate mothers since they would either be having inadequate knowledge or they would be in vulnerable positions. Other ethical concerns pertain to the identity of children and feelings of parents of various statuses to assisted reproduction. The paper concluded that selective abortion is an unfair idea of reproduction because it denies the world its natural diversity. References Porter, R. (2001). The Cambridge illustrated history of medicine. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Read More