IVF Issues - Facts, Figures, Ethical and Emotional Issues
A) SCIENTIFIC ISSUES
1) European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology 2008 REPORT for 2005 data
Please note the current success rate for IVF in Ireland is only 21.1% (in keeping with the European-wide average). This figure is reported as "deliveries per IVF cycle started in Ireland Table VI, page 8 of the attached report. The study abstract fails to report this figure and confusingly reports "clinical pregnancies per aspiration or per embryo transfer" ranging from 26.9% up to 30.3%. It is important to realise this is not the success rate per 100 people who started treatment but selective reporting of a sub-group within the study. According to ESHRE's data 15 to 24% of all IVF pregnancies ended in miscarriage! Only 21.1 per hundred couples achieved a successful delivery, for the most recent data available in Ireland. Interestingly Italy only have an 8% live birth rate, where they have legal guidelines to protect the embryo from conception. This shows that to achieve a reasonable success rate with IVF, you must be prepared to produce excess embryos over and above the one or two you intend to replace. This is problematic if one considers the scientific evidence that human life begins at conception.
2) IVF Not proven to be effective for unexplained Infertility - Cochrane Database HERE
IVF is becoming popular when there is no specific explanation for infertility as it may be able to overcome a variety of problems. However, it is expensive, complicated and can have many adverse effects (including multiple births). The review of trials found that IVF ......... research is not conclusive. Adverse outcomes and costs have not been adequately addressed in the trials.
3) IVF BABIES AT MORE RISK OF BIRTH DEFECTS THAN NATURALLY CONCEIVED BABIES
Children conceived with assisted reproductive technology (ART), for example IVF, have about twice the risk of having a major birth defect or low birth weight than children conceived naturally, Australian and US studies show.
In the Australian study, children conceived with ART had a 9 per cent chance of a major birth defect compared with a 4 per cent chance in naturally conceived children. The study was published in the medical journal New England Journal of Medicine (2002; 346: 725-30). This increased risk was the same whether the children were from single or multiple pregnancies, the review of all births in Western Australia showed. The use of ART also increased the chances of multiple major defects, chromosomal and musculoskeletal defects. Age of the mother and parity (the number of times she has given birth before) and the sex of the child did not affect the results.
The US study showed a 2.3 per cent increased risk of low birth weight in term singleton children (as opposed to children from multiple births, such as twins) conceived with ART compared to children conceived naturally (New England Journal of Medicine 2002; 346: 731-37).
The risk did not vary according to the cause of infertility, and because the mothers were all apparently healthy, the increased risk of low birth weight after ART may be directly related to the techniques themselves, the authors suggested.
4) When Does Human Life Begin? - A scientific perspective Click HERE
This article considers the current scientific evidence in human embryology and addresses two central questions concerning the beginning of life: 1) in the course of sperm-egg interaction, when is a new cell formed that is distinct from either sperm or egg? and 2) is this new cell a new human organism—i.e., a new human being? Based on universally accepted scientific criteria, a new cell, the human zygote, comes into existence at the moment of sperm-egg fusion, an event that occurs in less than a second...... continue article
B) EMOTIONAL ISSUES
1) Ravaged by “Baby Hunger” by Martina Devlin, for brochure click here
2) Test Tube Truths - Moral Dilemmas facing IVF Couples, by Kate Bluett HERE
C) ETHICAL ISSUES
1) Creation and Transfer of a Single Embryo in Reproductive Technology:
This paper from the Southern Cross Bioethics institute in Australia, analyses the many complex moral issues involving IVF, even is a couple does everything possible to avoid embryo loss in the process. CLICK HERE for full paper. If one considers that human life begins at conception, when the embryo has a unique genetic code that will guide its growth and development until old age, this paper shows how impossible it is for IVF to be practiced in a way that respects that new life.
2) IVF in the UK - over 2 million embryonic lives lost since 1991
2,137,924 human embryos were created by specialists while assisting couples in the UK to have babies between 1991 and 2005, according to BioNews. During this period, the HFEA informs us that the total of live babies born through IVF procedures was 109,469. In other words only 5.1% of all embryos created resulted in a Live Birth. Full report HERE.
3) Catholic Church Teaching and IVF - Dignitas Personae 12th Dec 2008
Dignitas Personae was released by the Congregation for the doctrine of the faith to answer advanced issues regarding bioethical questions, including assisted reproduction.
The document states that all assisted reproduction must respect 3 basic principles
- Couples must be married.
- Conception must occur through normal intercourse.
- The embryo must be treated with the full respect due to all human life from the moment of conception.
Techniques such as IUI, IVF and ICSI do not respect these basic principles so they are unethical and should be avoided by all Catholics, patients and doctors alike. The document is available HERE.
D) SPIRITUAL ISSUES
Embracing the cross of Infertility CLICK HERE
Are you suffering with Infertility? ....Are you having a hard time dealing with it? Are friends and family hurting more than helping you? Do you feel pressure from them or the culture at large to use methods such as in vitro fertilization (IVF)? Perhaps you are tempted by IVF, since nothing else, it seems, will give you the child you so desire. If any of this applies to you, then listen or read the talk by Dr. Marie Meaney.
.....This talk looks at the difficulties with which couples and in particular women suffering from infertility have to deal. After analyzing the temptations the woman has to face such as self-pity, anger, envy, not allowing herself to mourn, running away from the cross, this talk points out the wrong responses that people surrounding the infertile couple tend to give: telling them to get over it, being curious about the reason for their infertility, blaming them. These can stem from simple clumsiness, but often express a lack of compassion and the failure to stand under the cross with the persons who suffer.