Religion and Medical Ethics.

Authors Avatar

Dolly Shah 11m

RE Coursework: Religion and Medical Ethics.

Ai. There are a number of treatments available to infertile couples. They are called: Artificial insemination, GIFT, ZIFT, ICSI, PID, Egg donation and Surrogate mothers.

       Egg donation involves one woman donating her egg to the woman that wants to have children. The donor must be at the same stage in her menstrual cycle as the recipient. Fertilisation takes place in a fine tube. Another treatment is called ‘Artificial Insemination’. This can only be used if the man’s sperm count is low. It deals with taking some semen samples so that all the gametes alive in each sample can be put together to be inserted in the woman when she ovulates. In Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer, short for GIFT the sperm and egg are gathered in a fire tube which is inserted into the woman’s Fallopian Tube. Fertilisation then takes place naturally. ZIFT is also a treatment which involves bringing the sperm and egg together so that fertilisation can take place outside the body. The fertilised egg is then injected. ZIFT is short for Zygote Intra-Fallopian Transfer. IVF stands for ‘In Vitro Fertilisation’, it deals with putting the egg and sperm in a Petri dish. Once fertilisation occurs, the zygote (fertilised egg) is put in incubation for a few days. During this time it divides into about 8 identical cells. The zygote is now known as a blastocyst. The best blastocysts are transferred into the mother’s womb. The chance of pregnancy being achieved is high if more blastocysts are inserted. However, if more than 4 are inserted then the woman may well get quads or even more. One other treatment is called ‘Intra- Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection’ (ICSI), this deals with injecting a single sperm into the egg. After this is done it is moved into the woman’s uterus. This treatment is for men that produce little amounts of sperm.

Aii. I am going to explain the Christian attitudes to these treatments. Roman Catholics are against all the treatments for infertile couples because it is not natural since sexual intercourse is not involved. They believe that life is a gift from God and so only God has the right to decide who this gift will be given to. The Roman Catholics have this approach because none of the treatments have any sex act. They say that God’s plan for reproduction demands sex to be a portion of it. Also IVF compromise throwing away the unwanted eggs or using them for investigation which is no different from abortion. This is not right as it is murder. Masturbation by the male is a part of ‘Artificial Insemination’ and ‘Surrogacy’; this is regarded as a sin. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that, “These techniques infringe the child’s right to be born of a father and mother known to him”. This indicates that some treatments don’t allow the child to know who their parents are.

Join now!

      The other Christian churches have different attitudes and allow IVF and AIH. They believe that the rejected embryos are not foetuses and that it’s appropriate to use available resources to supply a husband and wife with the gift of children. The main reason they allow these treatments is because the egg and sperm are from the husband and wife. The other churches don’t allow the other treatments because they often question the identity of the child which could create legal issues. They have no problems with IVF and AIH because the egg and sperm are from the ...

This is a preview of the whole essay