Shiloh
A Post-IVF Ministry
Education
IVF has a set of complex ethical, medical, emotional, and spiritual components. Below you can learn more about the dilemmas involved in the process, many of which you may have encountered already.
Medical Ethics: IVF
Adverse Effects on Pregnancy Outcome
In this brief review, pediatrician Dr. Gideon Koren examines evidence of increased occurence of birth defects following IVF.
Documented Decision Regret with IVF in Women over 42Years Old
Post-IVF is not imaginary. Multi-factorial regret is real and has been documented. Read this scientific abstract to learn more.
Accurate Success Rates
Most of the time, errors go unreported in the IVF industry in the United States. The fertility industry is self-policed and it is not mandated to report errors to the government or even patients, thus conflating true success statistics. Read here about the secret settlements and pressure on clinics to have stronger ethics.
IVF Add-Ons
In an attempt to market IVF and increase income, some clinics have "add-on" services which are supposed to increase the success of IVF for their clients. Yet there is disagreement amongst IVF practitioners whether these are needed or even helpful. Find more in this list of common add-ons (note-none are shown to have a clear, effective improvement on treatment outcome).
Bioethical Issues
This article provides a shortlist of the plethora of issues which accompany the practice of IVF.
Non-Malefecience and the Other Principles of Medical Ethics
Within the Hippocratic Oath lies the expectation to "do no harm." One must ask if IVF can do no harm, since genetic testing, freezing embryos indefinitely, and other overwhelming health risks, besides low success rates, are a part of IVF. Learn more here about the four general principles of medical ethics and how they are considered in reproductive technology.
The Dangers of Private Equity and More
What happens when clinics put profit over patients? Check out this 5-part podcast that presents what happened in the rise and fall of Kindbody IVF clinics and the many ethical issues that arose in the process.
General Ethical Principles
IVF violates several philosophical principles which serve as the foundation of bioethics.
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Principle of Integrity: states that the human person must be viewed in respect to the whole (physical, psychical, etc) and not unduly compromised. IVF compromises this especially for the mother and the embryos. Read more about the principle here.
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Principle of Respect for Autonomy: to respect another's autonomy not only acknowledges the other's right to make choices of their own will and values, but also to allow them the right to act autonomously as long as other moral considerations allows it. One might see how IVF can violate this principle for the vulnerable embryo not allowed to act autonomously, but also either parent involved in IVF. Read more about the role in patient-clinician relationship here.
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Principle of Informed Consent: one has the right to have all the relevant information needed in order to comprehend and make a free decision. Many have shared how IVF clinics and providers did not fully or take seriously risks surrounding ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and how frozen embryos would be treated. Read here to learn more about informed consent.