The Year 11 Full Course RE group are beginning to consider issues surrounding medical ethics, and different religious and non-religious attitudes towards these issues.
Adriana Iliescu is one of the oldest recorded women to give birth. Aged 66, she gave birth to two twin girls using sperm and eggs from an anonymous donor. She had been having fertility treatment for nine years prior to this without success. She told local news reporters that she had always wanted to be a mother, but had been unable to conceive naturally. One of the girls weighed just 3.19 pounds, less than half the weight of an average newborn. The other baby was stillborn.
We would like you to write a response to the following:
‘The story of Adriana Iliescu is just one example of why fertility treatments are a bad idea.’
In your response you should consider more than one point of view, and use other examples from the lesson.
6 comments:
I think that even though the outcome of the treatment was so tragic, it still gave hope to Adriana and other infertile couples and shows how science can actually help people with such problems. Infertile couples must be really pleased with the fact that they can have children and feel like a normal family, and their dreams of being a happy family can come true in such ways. Despite that however, some people would be disgusted at the fact that she had children at such an old age, and that the children will be young when she passes away which means their life will be affected highly, especially due to the fact that they don't know who their father would be and that they will not feel like normal children. Also the tragedy (stillborn child) that was caused by this treatment will cause a big impact on people wanting treatment, as that is a very negative point on fertility treatment. On a whole, I think the couples/people wanting fertility treatment should be well informed and think wisely and carefully before making their decisions, sensibly weighing up the pros and the cons on their decision.
Haider
this would be considered as a case to show fertility treatments as a bad idea as the limitiations of the treatment are exposed in this case. It was not very effective on Adriana and it did not work on her. Also it can be seen as the failure of the treatment as it created defects and left the other baby unborn.
However a doctor may see this as the inevitable consequence as the treatment is not perfected and has certain limitations. The doctor may say that Adriana's case is not to be taken as the cause of bad fertility treament, sicne she was 66 years old, and becoming pregnant naturally would have been very unlikely. it also maybe the cause of illegitament sperm of egg donor which may be the cause of the defects. the argument is raised whether fertility treaments are bad but on the other hand Adriana's case is different as she was very old and the risks were higher.
OK, first of all, I do not believe that the public sector can quite simply AFFORD to provide this sort of [rather unnecessary] treatment - the amount of money that goes into helping 'over-age' women have generally unhealthy babies could go towards, for example, funding research into cancer - in these alternative fields, the money will be more beneficial as people with terminal illnesses surely have a greater reason for requiring treatment, and hence should clearly be given priority. Of course, if people want to give birth but find themselves unable to, they deserve full support from the governments and medical institutions, but the pros and cons need to be weighed up and doctors need to assess ALL of the ethical implications that will affect the pregnancy such as, for examples, the likelihood of unhealthy babies (as can be clearly seen in the example of Adriana), the psychological impact the inability to have a baby may have on the couple, and the money that will be spent on the treatment. And - most importantly - where there are more important fields of medicine that require money, such as sever diseases and illnesses, then they should be GIVEN PRIORITY.
ZAHRAH MADIHA SHEIKH HUSSAIN
Some people may agree with this statement, such as Muslims, because they believe that “Allah is the author of life and death” and therefore, it is wrong to create life as this is ‘Playing God’ and is a sin, only Allah can start a life. Also, other people may agree with this statement because it seems unjust and immoral that one baby lost its life and another was born prematurely for the personal gain of one woman wanting children. There may also be concerns that at her age, she will not be fit enough to nurture children to a sufficient level up to the age at which they can leave home.
On the other hand, other people, such as some Christians may disagree with this statement. This is because they are told to “Love thy neighbour” and in because the woman is old and lonely, it is a loving thing to do to make her dreams come true and allow her to have a child which, in good health at the moment, seems loving for both the mother and child. Another reason why some people may disagree with the statement is because despite the disadvantages and some negative stigma, fertility treatments do help many families have children which originally they would not have been able to have, making them happier and making many couples’/families’ dreams come true and bringing joy to them.
In conclusion, I disagree with the statement because I believe everybody has the right to have children as long as they will bring them up in a loving and caring home and I believe fertility treatments can bring happiness and joy to a family that wouldn’t previously have been able to have children, despite the drawbacks and controversy which surround the treatment.
Liam Sutcliffe - 11X
Some people would agree if they were of the view that fertility treatments can lead to complications in the pregnancy and births - for example, multiple fetuses are often implanted into the womb of the female to increase the chances of successful birth yet this can mean an increased likelihood of defects in the child/ren such as in the case of Iliescu where there were complications such as a stillborn child and an underweight newborn.
Other people may also agree, for example, Catholics who believe that God intended procreation as part of the intercourse between a couple - something which is denied with fertility treatments where medical technology is involved. They believe that life is in God's hand and doctors shouldn't play God so they would view fertility treatments as a bad idea.
On the other hand, some people would disagree - for example, some Muslims would accept certain fertility treatments such as IVF and AIH since these involve the sperm/egg of the parents and so there is no later confusion with surrogacy and a child's right to know his/her parents isn't later denied.
Other people would disagree if the destruction of embryos could be justified by the doctrine of double effect - if the intention was to produce children to provide couples with a happier life then the discarded embryos which weren't 'foetuses' are a side effect of the original intention.
In conclusion, I think that not all fertility treatments are a bad idea - I agree with IVF and AIH since it doesn't lead to surrogacy complications and it can increase the quality of life for people. However, I wouldn't necessarily prefer the other treatments since it involves donors from third parties and this can lead to complications for both the child and family.
Rida Khan
11C
(sorry for typing errors in advance)
‘The story of Adriana Iliescu is just one example of why fertility treatments are a bad idea.’
Some Christians may agree with this statement as when looking in the Old Testemant the famous story of Sarah and Abraham appears relevant. Sarah was past the normal child-bearing age and therefore was unable to conceive, so using her initiative, she prepared a way for a child to be born into her family by her maidservant becoming preganant to her husband Abraham, a child was born and God was displeased at the way she had not obeyed God and let him follow through with the plan he had. Sarah was then punished and this would relate to the christian opinion on this statement as some christians may believe from this that humans should not interfere with God's plans as this brings consequences to the child (premature babies being born, babies born with severe disabilities).
Other Christians may use the same story to disagree with this statement and would say that at Adriana's old age it is a miracle given by God that she has been able to give birth to children and that God has developed the babies in her womb, and has guided the science that made this AID possible. 'Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.' Genesis 21:2 this quote showing that God works in strange ways to complete his promises even if they seem to defy scientific laws.
I personally agree with the statement as I think that without sufficient knowledge on fertility treatments, lives such as those of Adriana's babies should not be risked for 'experimental' purposes, as this can cause serious damage to those involved emotionally and physically.
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