¶ … tenet of the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics states, "the nurse provides services with respect for human dignity and the uniqueness of the client, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of health problems." (Howard University) That seemingly simple statement puts nurses as well as other medical professionals in an ethical quandary when they consider the issue of in-vitro fertilization that results in a pregnancy with multiple fetuses. Even the presence of twins instead of a singleton presents extra risks for both mother and babies, and those risks rise dramatically as the numbers...
However, in the recent past, fertility experts have felt it necessary to implant multiple fertilized eggs because of a low success rate (Johnson, 1999).
One option when a multiple pregnancy presents clear risks, especially to the likely viability of all babies, is selective reduction. In selective reduction, some of the fetuses are aborted to allow the others a greater chance of survival with quality of life. While such an action is done in order to protect some of the fetuses, multiple ethical questions remain, including how to decide which embryos will be allowed to develop, and which allowed to terminate. At this point in time, doctors and
parents may not know the
sex of each
embryo. It may be too early to determine if any of the embryos are at greater risk of being born with a significant defect than others.
Obviously, anyone who believes that life begins at conception will be opposed to selective reduction. However, other concerns could include the worry that in the futures, embryos will be chosen to develop or be aborted based on sex or even, some day, things as trivial as eye color.
Recent developments in-vitro fertilization may make the issue of selective reduction less prominent. Researchers have recently developed the ability to transfer the embryos on the fifth day after conception, when the fertilized egg has…
