The demand for assisted reproductive technologies has grown with medical technology. Infertility rates have increased dramatically, with estimates of one in six American couples affected by infertility issues. For women, the most common reason for infertility is a blockage or abnormality of the fallopian tubes; for men, a low sperm count or low sperm motility is most common (affecting as many as 10 million men).
Today, fertility treatments are widely used to help a woman achieve pregnancy. Discuss some of the options women have available today to have a child. What are the advantages and disadvantages of medical intervention in fertility issues? What types of ethical concerns may arise in the field of assisted fertility.

The textbook presents many forms of assisted reproduction technologies available to women who want to have a child. The list of options appears on page 63, such as In vitro fertilization (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI), Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT), Surrogate mother and different forms of adoption. Below I listed each method, using what the textbook supplied as the definition.
IVF: fertilization occurs in a petri dish. A woman’s eggs are surgically extracted and placed into a solution containing blood serum and nutrients. Treated sperm are added to the solution, where fertilization takes place. After 5-7 days, the best embryos are selected and implanted into the woman’s uterus.
IUI: This method is most commonly used. Sperm is injected directly into a woman’s uterus, as part of the fertilization process.
GIFT: Sperm and egg are surgically placed in a fallopian tube with the intent of achieving fertilization in a more natural environment.
Surrogate mother: A woman becomes pregnant, usually by IUI or IVF, for the sole purpose of carrying the fetus to full term for another woman.
Adoption: The process of voluntarily taking a child of other parents as one’s own. The two types of adoption listed in our textbook are as follows:
Closed adoption: Biological parents are completely removed from the life of their child once the child is officially adopted. Open adoption: Biological mother can insist that the child be raised by a specific kind of couple and can ask to see the child several times throughout the year.

I definitely believe the primary advantage to medical intervention in fertility issues is that an individual wanting a child can have a child, despite various issues they may have experienced in the past. Such issues can be their own medical or personal issues (The same issues can apply if a partner is involved), the ability for gay and lesbian couples, who are unable to reproduce by the standard means, are able to become parents, as can single women or single men. In addition, individuals who face infertility issues who opt to have medical intervention, allow unwanted children a loving and caring environment, by adopting.
As for the disadvantages that go along with medical intervention, I know the list is quite extensive, which can also be painful, both emotionally and physically. Many times in ART, women must take various types of medications and/or hormones, which have adverse effects on their bodies. In addition, there is never that 100% guarantee that any procedure will take effect the first time, causing many couples and individuals to seek medical intervention and treatment countless times, some, unfortunately, resulting in never being able to have a child of their own. There are also disadvantages with adoption, as many family members do not support the couple’s decision, claiming the child is not a blood relative. Other cases may arise where a pregnant women has planned on placing her unborn child up for adoption and then changes her mind, leaving the couple heart-broken and forcing them to wait all over for another opportunity.

*** I have to state I came across some of these reasons in a journal article and posted them just to show how some individuals can