Essay on Assisted Reproduction: Surrogacy, IVF and Designer Babies

Scientists from most developed countries have been studying and making discoveries about assisted reproduction especially for women with special reproduction needs. Fertility clinics exist that offers surrogacy, IVF and designer babies. Women who have no ability to carry babies in their wombs visit these clinics for assisted reproduction. Others with needs like changing the fetus characteristics, designing the baby's gender, genes mutations and preventing transmission of disability or diseases from parents to their children visit these clinics. However, society has expressed different opinions regarding the practices. Some support the science while others oppose it on various bases. Although this controversial topic is still under study and much is yet to be discovered, ethical opinions from the society have partly supported and partly rejected the practice.

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To understand public opinion on scientific innovations, the following terms should be defined.

• Surrogacy is where an infertile woman in the desire of a baby allow another woman to carry the baby for her through embryo implantation.
• IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) is an assisted reproduction process whereby an egg and a sperm from a couple, the intended biological mothers are fertilized in the laboratory. During this process, the embryo is then formed which later is implanted on the biological mother's uterus or that of a surrogate mother (Lee, 5).
• Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is screening or cross-checking of the IVF embryo to deselect any disease or disability existing in parents that they do not want the baby to inherit. The chromosomal checkup happens before the implantation of IVF embryo to the uterus.
• Eugenics is a scientific process of improving world population by selectively breeding to increase the birth of babies with desirable characteristics.
• Genome Editing is a scientific way of altering original genes to make specific genes by either replacing, adding or removing bases of DNA.
• A designer baby is a baby whose DNA or genome has been edited by replacing undesired or adding desired mutations.

Ethical opinions in support of technologically assisted reproduction say that infertile couples are given a chance to have children with their genes, fertile women bear children with desired characteristics and protect their children from inheriting disabilities and diseases from their parents. Infertility although common in men, it has become a major concern in women especially due to the existence of infertility causes like ovarian, uterine, tubal, cervical and other unexplained causes (NYU, 4). Study shows that surrogacy through IVF gives at least 20% of infertile couples' chances of having babies with their own genes. According to the Washington post, Miss Great Britain has four boys and now plan to have a girl through IVF. This will be done by sex selection. Through sex selection, scientists are able to select the desired gender of the baby to be born during the formulation of the embryo. Through the eugenic, parents can decide the characteristics their babies should have. Such characteristics include height, eye colors, level of IQ and special parents' characteristics like dwarfism among others. During the preimplantation genetic screening, chromosomal cells from IVF embryos are screened to detect any defect in parents. If any defect is discovered, PGD is done to prevent the defects from passing to the baby or babies. The parents undergoing assisted reproduction decide whether they want their baby to inherit the defect or not. Technologically assisted reproduction, although very unclear due to the development of negative societal opinion has helped so much in reproduction (Rai).

Other ethical opinions from some political and religious leaders and the general society are against technological reproduction. The first point is that the deduction of genes variation from the human gene pool could lead to the end of the human race. According to Sara Hoffman, genome editing is likely to make scientists give up on the human race by designing genes (1). The fact that scientists can delete, add or replace genes from a person to another, it is also possible that human genes will no longer use one day. This will mean that genes will no longer be passed through generation. Artificially made genes will belong to no race hence the end of the human race. Religious leaders have condemned the science calling it wrong and manipulative. Political leaders too have gone against the move to an extent or prohibiting assisted reproduction in their countries, calling it inhuman.

The high cost of surrogacy, IVF and genetic modification reproduction methods will put a division of class between the poor who cannot afford the process and the rich that can. Miss Great Britain reported that she was charged $25,000 per cycle (Cha). This price is an approximation of one cycle without adding travel cost for people who live in technological reproduction prohibited countries who seek clinical attention in other countries. The high cost of the procedure favors the rich only. The poor, since cannot afford the procedures, they will feel left out despite having the same needs. The superclass divided procedure will create a negative impact on society. Another super class possibility will come along with the ability to abort or deselect healthy but different babies. The superclass selected babies will only have high-quality characteristics. Healthy children who are different and with low or poor characteristics born by poor parents will feel discriminated and left out. These children will in the next few generations considered unfit and undesirable in society, creating a generational disaster.

Second, a genetic modification error made in one baby will be passed down the generations of the individual after growing up. Since research is still underway in regard to technological reproduction, the probability of making errors during the procedures especially in genome editing or PGD is very high. The genetic error is will be inherited by many generations to come, making it a generational error. Michele Evans's study on "Infertility, In Vitro Fertilization and genetic testing", reports that out of 100% of procedures that take place in American Fertility Clinics, only 70% becomes successful (59). Many cases are reported regarding failed procedures from which the opposite of what was expected becomes the outcome. The outcome offspring, who might not afford such a PGD procedure while giving birth end up passing the procedure error to his or her children.

Another ethical opinion is that eliminating an embryo that is considered unfit is seen as taking a life. Robertson in his article "ethical and legal issues in preimplantation genetic screening" states that discarding unfit embryos during PGS is illegal and unethical (3). He adds that the procedure involves destruction and manipulation of embryos. The embryo made through IVF has its blastomere removed. The embryo is tested and if DNAse probe if still present, the embryo is disposed of. Religious leaders in protest against the killing, they have termed discarding unfit embryos as taking human life, adding that it is against biblical and legal laws. The fit embryos are also sometimes disposed of. After IVF, the embryos are reproduced in multiple numbers so that implantation to the uterus could be repeated in case the first time is not successful. After successful implantation, the remaining similar embryos are thrown away.

Surrogacy is no longer a way to help those who can't bear babies but a business; making it an unethical practice. Surrogacy is intended to help a man or woman who cannot bear children have children related to them. However, surrogate mothers are taking practice as a booming business to sell children. In most countries like India, surrogacy is illegal because it is considered immoral and as human trafficking. Sperm donation is also prohibited in some countries. In the United States, surrogacy has become a public business whereby women are paid to carry babies until birth so long as there is an agreement. Some women no longer charge anything to carry the pregnancies; all they need is to be taken care of by the couples involved. They have made childbearing a business, an act considered morally un upright (Cottingham, 5). Research states that the legalization of surrogacy has made surrogate mothers protected and given the ability for child trafficking. Women are now giving birth and selling their babies for profits. This action has prolonged because women will call themselves surrogate mothers; claiming that they bear children for their clients. Human trafficking is a major concern, especially in America and Mexico. The legalization of surrogacy has however made the business booming for the traffickers.

Finally, assisted reproduction is unethical because it encourages and hinders the natural way or procreation (Bateman, 303). The natural way of conception is whereby a couple of different genders engage in sexual intercourse to reproduce a baby. Scientists' opinion is that a man or a woman might not need a family to have a child. Therefore, technological reproduction comes to meet the demands of such people. The legal system discourages this belief by encouraging people to form families as a way of creating morally upright communities. In America, it is not certain whether assisted reproduction is legal or not. Legitimate systems in different countries are forming worldwide governing laws that will regulate the circumstances under which assisted reproduction should be conducted. European countries state that the legalization of lesbian and gay marriage in various countries all over the world have greatly contributed to surrogacy and IVF. Various ethical practice systems have condemned technological procreation terming it evil and manipulative. In the defense, the systems want women to practice natural reproduction and create families. Children grown from a family with both parents are likely to be morally upright than those raised by a single parent. Although that fact is debatable, the system has many supporters from all corners of the world.

Conclusion

In conclusion, technological reproduction particular surrogacy, IVF and designer babies is a controversial topic which has raised debates all over the world. Recent studies show that despite the uncertainty and scientific lack of enough research, people are already embracing assisted procreation in most countries. Although this form of reproduction has several advantages like the ability of women to bear children and with selected genes and characteristics among others, it has been considered unethical practice by many countries with some of them prohibiting it. However, some countries like Dubai and America have no problem with these procedures being carried out in their countries. Ethical practices, society, part of religious and political leaders believe that assisted procreation not morally upright. Such reasons given in support include the possibility of ending the human race, passing genetic errors to generations, advocating human trafficking through surrogacy, abandoning natural reproduction and taking human lives through embryo disposal. The preparation of world laws governing the procedures is underway. These laws will make sure that people will go for such procedures only when it is the only way. This topic is still unclear and needs further studies in order to make conclusive decisions.

Works Cited

Bateman, Simone. "When reproductive freedom encounters medical responsibility: changing conceptions of reproductive choice." pp. 330-303, apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/42576/9241590300.pdf;jsessionid=FCA3D42FB87CBE4AA2ACFF02423E5AB6?sequence=1. Accessed 7 May 2019.

Cha, Ariana E. "From sex selection to surrogates, American IVF clinics provide ser...