03.08.2013 Views

Public Health Law Map - Beta 5 - Medical and Public Health Law Site

Public Health Law Map - Beta 5 - Medical and Public Health Law Site

Public Health Law Map - Beta 5 - Medical and Public Health Law Site

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

disorder should not be helped to conceive by artificial means. The risk of turning a<br />

mild chronic psychiatric problem into an acute problem is substantial. If the woman<br />

continues to try to maintain a physiologically unreasonably low weight, the fetus<br />

may suffer substantial damage. Given the psychiatric basis of the problem, an<br />

informed consent to accept the risk of pregnancy is problematic. If the woman had<br />

control of her behavior, she would have been able to conceive by gaining weight.<br />

The patient should be referred for psychological evaluation before any risky<br />

therapies are instituted.<br />

c) Prospects for Successful Treatment<br />

In spite of all the advances in infertility treatment, not every couple will be able to<br />

conceive <strong>and</strong> bear a child. Any couple asking for infertility treatment should be<br />

given a realistic idea of their chances. Adoption is a long process in the United<br />

States today, <strong>and</strong> there are age limits placed on adoptive parents. A physician who<br />

is treating an infertile couple should be sure that they are not offered false hope that<br />

limits or excludes the possibility of adoption. Patients should be reminded that they<br />

should preserve their options while the various therapies are tried.<br />

d) Dealing with Multiple Gestation<br />

Some fertility drugs substantially increase the probability of multiple births.<br />

[ACOG Technical Bulletin 120. <strong>Medical</strong> Induction of Ovulation. September 1988.]<br />

In vitro fertilization techniques can also result in multiple gestations if more than<br />

one embryo is introduced, with a rate of twins of 15% to 18% <strong>and</strong> of triplets of 1%<br />

to 2% with four preembryos. [ACOG Technical Bulletin 140. New Reproductive<br />

Technologies. March 1990. [ACOG Technical Bulletin 140. New Reproductive<br />

Technologies. March 1990.] Multiple gestation poses grave risks to both the fetuses<br />

<strong>and</strong> the mother. [ACOG Technical Bulletin 120. <strong>Medical</strong> Induction of Ovulation.<br />

September 1988.] These risks should be explained in detail. The woman must<br />

underst<strong>and</strong> that the risk is not that she will have twins or triplets (or more) but that<br />

one or more of the babies may be severely disabled <strong>and</strong> that she may suffer medical<br />

complications. The physician should also discuss the possibility of pregnancy<br />

reduction <strong>and</strong> selective fetal termination. A woman with multiple gestation must be<br />

informed of her options:<br />

1. Abort all fetuses<br />

2. Attempt to carry all fetuses to term<br />

3. Terminate some of the fetuses [ACOG Committee on Ethics, Committee Opinion<br />

94. Multifetal Pregnancy Reduction <strong>and</strong> Selective Fetal Termination. April 1991.]<br />

The introduction of multiple preembryos is intended to increase the success rate of<br />

in vitro fertilization. This benefits the patients by reducing the cost <strong>and</strong> medical<br />

risks of multiple procedures, but it is also critical to the success of the fertility<br />

center’s marketing. Few persons would be willing to undergo the risk <strong>and</strong> expense<br />

572

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!