Beginning of Life Flashcards
What are some examples of assisted reproduction techniques?
- Artificial insemination
- In vitro fertilisation (IVF)
- Gamete donation
- Embryo donation
- Use of artificial gametes
- Reproductive cloning
What are the advantages of assisted reproduction techniques?
- Treatment of infertility
- Single and same sex parents
- Prevention of inherited conditions
- Fertility preservation (people who’ve had cancer can be parents)
What are some risks of Assisted Reproduction Techniques?
- Sex selection
- “Designer babies”
- The reproduction industry
In which type of countries is sex selection used?
In countries where they value male offspring more than women
What are the problems with sex selection?
- This process undermines the status of women
- Can lead to gender ratio imbalance
- Lack of women- can lead to gender based violence
- Against the principle of unconditional parental love
- It can be used for family balancing
What are the advantages of Social Egg Freezing?
Women can freeze eggs when they ate about to undergo medical treatment- chemo and radio- which could make them infertile
Women have an age related reduction in quality and number of eggs
Provides women with greater reproductive control- choose to have babies
What is a problem with social egg freezing?
Financial implications- not on state funded healthcare
What are some advantages of the reproductive industry?
- Donor gametes
- Surrogate mothers
- New opportunities for parenthood
What are some problems with the reproductive industry?
- Problems with access
* Potential for exploitation
When is life said to begin?
After 14 days
Why is life said to begin after 14 days?
The primitive streak forms and one embryo becomes one individual
This is also the point that the CNS starts to develop- pain and neurological development
What are some advantages of abortion?
- Acknowledges sexual and reproductive rights of women
- Unwanted pregnancy can harm physical & mental heath
- Safe abortion saves lives globally
- A potential human is not a child- the legal status of an embryo is not a child
- Wanted children thrive
What are some disadvantages of abortion?
- Denial of the rights of the embryo/fetus
- Eliminating the potential for life
- Contraception as an alternative to abortion
What are some prenatal screening tests?
- Triple test for chromosomal abnormalities (AFP, Estrio, beta HCG)
- Non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPT- check fetal cells in mothers blood)
At how many week is the age of viability?
24 weeks
