...Ron Reagan’s eye-opening quote, “You cannot be against embryonic stem cell research and be intellectually and therefore morally consistent, if you’re not also against in vitro fertilization” (Reagan 78) indicates that in vitro fertilization is completely immoral and a very unethical method to use. Ever since the IVF procedure has been developed, in vitro fertilization has been a major topic of controversy and questions moral ethics from a religious and scientific perspective. The parents of the ill child should not proceed with the IVF procedure because there is a low rate of success, extremely expensive to carry out, and could cause psychological damage to the entire family. The family should thoroughly look over these reasons and reconsider their options for their child with leukemia....
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...The 21st century is characterized for its technological advancements. Rapid renovation in medical research, disease treatment, and advanced quality of life has marked the turn of the century. Recent development in stem cell research has brought forth an ethical debate; whether research to achieve new medical remedies is permissible at the stake of, arguably, the unborn life of frozen embryos or if stem cell research should cease at the cost of disease stricken people worldwide to preserve an embryo that may never be born. 1. Massage (Articulate) the Problem: a) What is the current undesirable situation? Identify and define issues in the dilemma. The current undesirable situation pertaining to frozen embryo donation is the donor being forced to keep frozen embryos against their own discretion. It may be unfavorable to keep embryos frozen for an extended period of time because of the financial burden. To extract, freeze, and preserve embryos, clients can expect to pay an initial fee of approximately $10,000. According to USCFertility, client can also expect a storage fee of $500 per year and to thaw frozen embryos an additional payment of $5,000 is required (uscfertility.org). Another issue apart of this ethical dilemma is whether embryos are classified as a person or property. If assumed to be property, it is debatable whether preservation of embryos can be mandated. Lastly, and perhaps the most controversial component of this dilemma is defining “conception” to establish when...
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...Embryonic Stem Cell Research: The Next Best Thing Have you ever gone to the doctor when you are not feeling well? The doctor probably gave you some good advice and maybe a pill and you felt better in about a week. This happens every day all over the country every day. But what happens when good advice and a pill will not help this time? A diagnosis of organ failure, spinal cord injury, and diabetes, Parkinson’s disease or Huntington’s disease is life altering. After the shock wears off you might start researching different therapies and come across something called stem cell research. Stem cell research has been around since the 1970’s but has gotten a lot of attention in the last several years. It has even risen to the level of Presidential campaigns: Senator John Kerry (D) made embryonic stem cell research a major theme in his 2004 run for President. The controversial issue comes in when the discussion turns toward embryonic stem cell versus adult stem cells. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells found throughout the body in tissue and organs. Undifferentiated cell are cells that have not specialized. They are there to repair and maintain the tissue or organ where they are found. Stem cells are also found in in the cord blood in the umbilical cord of newborns. The last place is embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are very special because they are pluripotent; they are capable of becoming any cell in the body as opposed to an adult stem cell that is limited...
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...Critical Analysis In Vitro Fertilization August 19, 2009 Marriages can offer new exciting experiences especially when couples want to start developing a family. For some couples pregnancy is simple and their family begins. For others it isn’t so easy, having children becomes a medical challenge and alternative solutions need to be sought out. One such solution for conception involves using the medical advancement of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) techniques. However, for many this raises a whole batch of ethical dilemmas. IVF brings up dilemmas such as the process itself, when does “life” begin, how many eggs to fertilize, and cryopreservation of embryos. It is an especially difficult decision for those of Christian beliefs as IVF is not widely received within the Christian community and not clearly addressed in the Bible. I first want to take a look at the process itself and what leads a couple, or individual, to this decision. Before we start, we need to define what infertility is. According to The Fertility Center (2009), infertility is the “inability for a couple to conceive after one year of normal intercourse with no contraception”. Facing infertility is not as uncommon as one might believe, according to the Center for Disease Control, “approximately 1.2 million women made infertility related appointments in 2002”. In simpler terms, one in six couples faces infertility related issues at some point during their childbearing...
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...Dilemma Is gender selection of a fetus ethical? With new advances in reproductive technology, parents can not only find out if their embryo has genetic abnormalities, they can also find out the gender of their embryo. The ethical dilemma is whether or not one should be able to choose their child’s gender before implantation. Some compare this method of gender selection to human cloning. Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is the testing of the chromosomes of the embryo to determine genetic abnormalities and gender prior to in-vitro fertilization (IVF). In the United States, gender selection by PGD is considered a violation of ethical practices for non-medical purposes (Akchurin, n.d.) CNN.com reported recently that a new blood test has been discovered which can determine the sex of a fetus as early as seven weeks gestation. This achievement was reported in the Journal of American Medical Association in August. This technology is already starting ethical debates fearing parents will use this technology for sex determination and abort healthy fetuses (Ravitsky, 2011). This new technology could also be beneficial in determining gender if their child is at risk for a sex-linked disease such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy or hemophilia. In China and India, there is a cultural preference for males, and for years, parents have been having ultrasounds to determine sex and having abortion’s following to avoid having a female. These practices have altered the sex ratios in these countries...
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...developing world. As a result of their infertile status, they suffer physical and mental abuse, neglect, abandonment, economic deprivation and social ostracism as well as exclusion from certain social activities and traditional ceremonies. This becomes particularly traumatic with previous pregnancies that end in abortions, stillbirths and neonatal/infant deaths or in live births of daughters only. A survey conducted in Southern Ghana revealed that the majority (64%) of women felt stigmatized, and that higher levels of perceived stigma were associated with increased infertility-related stress as well as lower levels of education, (Donkor and Sandall J., 2007). Insufficient family income, poor quality of life, life stress, and discontentment with daily routines as well as ‘bad’ relationships with family members (husband, mother- and father-in-law) are significant correlates of female infertility. Infertile women are more likely to underestimate the importance of sexual intimacy, and have a negative attitude towards sex, (Schmidt, 2010). Female infertility is associated with various social correlates leading to higher remarriage rates and to further complicating the problem of infertility. Thus, a correction of women’s basic attitudes and their relationships to their surrounding social habitat should be an essential component of any program of infertility management. In America, strong social stigma attached to infertility and machismo attitudes create a dynamic where women...
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...Keith Concerns of Young Women under the Age of Forty Diagnosed With Breast Cancer Can you imagine being a woman under the age of forty and receiving a diagnosis of breast cancer? One out of every two hundred and ten women diagnosed will be under the age of forty. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. Every woman diagnosed with breast cancer will face different issues. Young women are concerned with their body image, fertility, sexual functioning, relationship issues, and premature menopause more so than older women. Young women feel they are in the best part of their life. The diagnosis of breast cancer at this age is considered a step backward for young women who feel they should be building their career and family. Women under the age of forty diagnosed with breast cancer will face their own unique set of problems and challenges. The diagnosis of breast cancer in young women is rare. When diagnosed with breast cancer at or under the age of forty young women are generally in the later stages of breast cancer. The expected outcome or course of the disease tends to be worse for women under forty versus women that are older. Research shows that breast cancer is more aggressive in younger women. Tumors are larger and more lymph nodes are affected. Younger women diagnosed in later stages can be the result of lack of awareness and effective screening options. With breast tissue being denser in younger women screening and diagnosing is difficult...
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...Chromosome Number For NUR 3516 Crisis Intervention Professor 07/26/2015 Chromosome Number Four The purpose of this paper is to explore the association of crisis intervention relative to nursing and genetics related to Huntington’s disease (HD). The focus will touch on several different topics associated with pre-emptive testing, pregnancy, educational barriers, strengths, signs and symptoms related to the potential of having an aneuploidy fetus. Also, the importance of time sensitive decisions during pregnancy, social support for potential results, financial resources and hardship related to testing. Additionally, the potential for impaired early on-set compromised cognitive functioning linked to Huntington’s disease. Finally, incorporating the expanded role of the professional nursing scope, practice, and ethical dilemmas associated with Huntington’s disease. Chorea a Brief History Huntington-Chorea was identified in 1872 as a rare inherited disorder secondary to “Chorea” jerky uncontrolled movements (Mandal, 2014). Chorea is Greek in origin and defined as “dancing in unison” (Merck Manual, 2015). 1872 the jerky movements were thought to be divine intervention or demon possession that required a type of exorcism to expel (Jumreornvong, 2015). Additionally, with the evolution of genetics in 1983 according to the US-Venezuela Huntington Disease Collaborative Research Project an approximate location of the gene was identified...
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...and Buddhism. We guarantee that your eggs and your sperm will never be used in a way that you have not explicitly or implicitly consented to. — (Sydney IVF website) This case study describes the strategy implementation choices made by executives at Sydney IVF Limited: an Australian business that tested and performed research using human embryos derived from in vitro fertilization. In vitro fertilization (IVF) was a process that allowed human eggs to be fertilized outside a woman’s womb. In a typical IVF cycle, a woman’s ovaries were stimulated with fertility drugs to encourage the production of anywhere from 3 to 30 eggs. These eggs were then retrieved from the ovaries and fertilized with sperm in a glass test tube or petri dish—hence the Latin term in vitro, which means “in glass.” The fertilized eggs grew in a specialized culture medium (a nutrient-rich salt solution) for several days. The resulting embryos—clusters of cells that form after an egg is fertilized—were then transferred back to the woman’s uterus with the hope of achieving pregnancy and ultimately a healthy baby. The in vitro fertilization process typically produced more eggs and embryos than needed for a successful pregnancy. Couples could choose to freeze these surplus embryos for use in future IVF cycles although many would never be used. For these excess embryos, three options were available: 1. Destroy the...
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...because they thought this would make their wrongs somewhat right in the society. (Skloot 129). Soon they had tumors on their arms, just like Henrietta did when she had cervical cancer. Next, Southam decided to inject cancer cells into patients’ arms who had cancer. Not long after, their arms (became)got red and swollen and (developed) had tumors (similarly to the prisoners without cancer). Every time Southam injected the prisoners with more cells, it was (prisoners’ immunity increased) increasing the prisoner’s immunity to the cancer. This eventually lead to a vaccine. Because of HeLa cells, scientists were able to prove that the polio vaccine was safe and was effective. As they began getting promising results from polio experiments they starting creating large amounts of the HeLa cell line for experimental testing. Across the globe scientists began asking for and using HeLa cells. Scientists figured out how to mass produce these cells and ship them. They did this by studying how the HeLa cells grew so quickly, and how they could create more room to contain them. Since most all cells need to be grown on a glass plate it was hard for them to constantly have to scrape them off and out on a new plate, until they found out that HeLa cells don’t need a glass plate. They could grow by floating in a cultured medium. This means that if the HeLa cells have room to grow, the more of them were able to grow, and if they were open to polio virus then it would solve the mass-production problem...
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...Social Problems Presentation Review Racial and Ethnic Inequality Chapter 3 Summary: Racial and ethnic inequality is a social problem because it affects such a large number of people around the world. One way this can be seen is through prejudice which categories people based on age, sex, and social class. These can be good and bad. Institutional racism is a big deal today. Some companies will not hire a person simply because of their color or their sex. Another way to say this is racial discrimination which lets race or color impact a person’s ability to get a job. People like to think this doesn’t really happen when the harsh reality is that it happens all the time. Laws have been made to try and prevent this from happening but companies still practice it. Groups like the EEOC (equal employment opportunity commission) were created to enforce laws against discrimination in the work place. Some things we can do to change this is to look at person for their work ethic and quality and ignore the color of their skin or whether they are male or female. Through history we have tried to make everyone have the same standing in society which is called pluralism. We would take groups and “Americanize” them; you can see this in what we did to the Native Americans. Also we have segregated groups some by force, like the Jim Crow laws in the south, but others are by choice like the groups of the Amish. Reaction: In my life I have seen this happen on the news and in newspapers multiple...
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...far from over. Backers for the research are starting to grow. I would like to delve into the ethics that should be in place if this research becomes a stable infrastructure of medical practice. Also, I will go into handling opposition concerning this research potential. First let us see what ethical issues that would arise in this probable world or research. In an article by Anne McLaren, she stated that there would be three different ethical issues that would arise: personal ethics, research ethics, and social ethics. In the realm of personal ethics it would deal with personal morality, dishonesty, irresponsibility, and failure to observe good practice (McLaren, 2007). Meaning there are two very important things that have to be considered by the person before continuing with the research. Is it for personal gain either financially or professionally or is it for the patient’s needs. Both of which are very important for every doctor around the world, and which some lost sight of. The second ethical problem is research ethics, which deals with the research itself: what material is being used, what is its source, what are researchers doing with it (McLaren, 2007). This is where the true battle lies in stem cell research. The burning question that arises is, “When does life begin?” Another question is, “Where do you get the embryonic stem cells?” One logical place is from couples trying for a child through in vitro fertilization to donate...
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...fertility rates amongst women with the desire for pregnancy. Complimentary / Alternative medical treatments include many stress reducing techniques, such as Reiki and message, herbal therapies, and acupuncture. CAM has shown to be very effective in increasing the chances of conception, provides little harm to the patient, and is very inexpensive. DEFINITION / SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS According to the National Centers for Health Statistics there are 6.1 million women between the ages of 15-44 who have an impaired ability to have children. In the United States, about 20% of all couples are infertile.1 Many studies attribute the growing numbers of infertile couples to a shift in social ideology, including the average age for marriage and starting a family at a later age. More specifically, as women age, the ability to conceive becomes difficult and the risks of complications during pregnancy increases significantly. For example infertility in married women between the ages of 16-20 is 4.5%, in comparison to the 70% of infertile women over the age of 40. 2 Infertility is defined in the Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine (2nd ed.) as the failure of a couple to conceive a...
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...I chose procreation as a topic for this paper for a few reasons. First, because of complicity of the issue. Scope of this problem almost unlimited and correlates not only with modern legal and ethical general acceptable principals, but also with core issues of human existence. Second, I do believe, that understanding of origin of procreation and ability to build personal approach in this issue plays significant role for every professional in the Health Care System. Even if in real life situation some of us will never directly participate in solving such problem, still establishing firm personal position on this issue will benefited everyone who involved in running of human services. Third, I think that in the scope of course “Legal and Ethical issues in Health Care”, procreation could be a best example to justify my personal opinion on the social role of ethics and its priority over the social role of legal system. In comparing law and ethics, many people thinking about law as a sphere of clearly identified and easy to recognize points, while sphere of ethical issues for many, more-less limited to the individual stand points in terms of what is good and what is bad. However, it is an ethics established law, not law established ethics. Especially in the procreation dilemma, it turns out ethics plays a big part in all aspects of breeding, in the sense that ethics makes our choices relevant to other people. The decision to have or not to have children has a profound impact on all...
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...Final Project 1. Biological and Environmental – Fertility: Three specific procedures that can help to increase the chances of fertility or help families who cannot conceive are, In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), Donor Eggs and Surrogacy. For each of these procedures, the couples should first seek an OB/GYN to assist them in gaging their fertility capabilities. From that point on, the Doctor will then refer them to an Embryologist or Specialist in that particular area or process. It is also good to receive feedback or suggestions from friends or family who have personally gone through the procedure. If couples have difficulty finding a good recommendation, this website provided below will help them to further this process. http://www.ihr.com/infertility/ivf/how-to-select-infertility-ivf-clinic.html 2. Prenatal Development, Birth and Newborns- Institutions: Three specific institutions that I will discuss are, Graham’s Foundation, Little Big Souls and the European Foundation for the care of newborn infants (EFCNI). All three of these organizations help to support parents and physicians of premature babies. There resource websites are as follows: * http://grahamsfoundation.org/ * http://www.littlebigsouls.com/ * http://www.efcni.org/ 3. Infancy- How to Breastfeed: First, they suggest that you learn as much as you can about breast feeding before you even start. They suggest that you talk with other moms you know who have had experience in breast...
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