Do we abuse modern technology?
It never occurred to me until my English class began discussing in vitro fertilization. For those of you who are not aware of this procedure, it is the process of fertilization by manually combining an egg and sperm in a laboratory dish. When the IVF procedure is successful, the process is combined with a procedure known as embryo transfer, which is used to physically place the embryo in the uterus.
In other words, Bam! You’re pregnant and your husband or boyfriend is still the father and you’re still the mother and your bundle of joy will still look like either of you.
But this is where my concern is; in vitro fertilization, in its initial stage, was to help couples who had been trying to get pregnant and hadn’t been successful. Many argue that this is an affront to God because maybe these people weren’t meant to have children, and it became even more controversial when lesbians began using this procedure.
According to American Pregnancy Association, the success rate of IVF clinics depends on a number of factors including patient characteristics and treatment approaches. It is also important to realize that pregnancy rates do not equate to live birth rates. In the United States, the live birth rate for each IVF cycle started is approximately 30 to 35 percent for women under age 35; 25 percent for women ages 35 to 37; 15 to 20 percent for women ages 38 to 40; 6 to 10 percent for women over 40.
A woman’s ovulation rate lowers after 35. Older women are more likely to have endometriosis and other health conditions that can impact fertility; they’re also more likely to suffer from miscarriages and pregnancy complications. According to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, if you’re 35 or older and have been trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant for six months, it’s time to consult a fertility specialist. Women older than 40 should see a specialist after three months of unsuccessful attempts. In addition to general fertility concerns, women over 35 are also at greater risk of having a child with certain birth defects and other health issues. In vitro fertilization is able to give older women the option of having children.
But there is a reason that your biological clock stops ticking, ladies. And according to http://www.socyberty.com, Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is a biopsy technique that was first successfully used in 1988. It is used in IVF to identify genetic defects in the created embryos such as: sex-linked disorders, single gene defects, and chromosomal disorders. Specific diseases like: Tay-Sachs disease, cystic fibrosis, Huntington disease, X-linked dystrophies, and mitochondrial disease, etc can be all identified.
This is an incident where we as humans are able to “play God.” We can choose whether our child is born with certain diseases and pick our babies’ sex.
My son, Benjamin, is 9-months-old now, is 24 lbs and the absolute cutest baby on earth, to me. But if my son had been born with any kind of defect, I would have assumed it was God’s will and did the best I could have. Who are we to choose what our children will look like?
In vitro is an amazing opportunity to have children but it’s not when we choose to abuse modern technology, deciding whether to have a girl or boy.
This procedure is great, and it has helped many reproduce who otherwise wouldn’t have but, in my opinion, where will it end? At the rate, we are going we could ultimately do away with women all together. Aside from the obvious way to reproduce, what about couples whom would prefer to just have a test tube baby, take frozen eggs or sperm and create life without that intimate exchange? This is against anything I stand for.
