Infertility—The Treatments, The Questions

A Baby Boom
Through Assisted Reproduction

On July 25, 1978, a unique birth took place in Oldham, England, when a baby girl named Louise Joy Brown entered the world. Louise was history’s first test-tube baby.

NINE months earlier, Louise had been conceived in a laboratory through a process called in vitro fertilization (IVF). By means of this procedure, an egg extracted from her mother was united with a sperm in a glass dish. Two and a half days later, after the egg cell had subdivided into eight microscopic cells, this little cluster of dividing cells was inserted into her mother’s uterus to develop normally. Louise’s birth opened up a whole new chapter in the treatment of infertility.

IVF gave momentum to what is now known as assisted reproductive technology (ART), which includes all kinds of fertility treatments in which both egg and sperm are handled. Consider some examples. In 1984 a woman in California, U.S.A., gave birth to a baby developed from an egg donated by another woman. The same year, in Australia, a baby was born from an embryo that had been frozen. In 1994 a 62-year-old woman in Italy gave birth, using donated eggs and her husband’s sperm.

A Progressive Development

Now, some 25 years after Louise Joy Brown was born, researchers have assembled a battery of medicines and high-tech procedures that have utterly transformed infertility treatment. (See the boxes “Some Types of Fertility Treatments” and “What Are the Risks?”) Such breakthroughs have led to a dramatic increase in the number of children born by means of assisted reproduction. In 1999, for example, ART resulted in the birth of over 30,000 babies in the United States alone. In some Scandinavian countries, between 2 and 3 percent of the children born each year have been conceived by such means. Worldwide, about 100,000 children are born annually as a result of IVF treatment. It has been estimated that about one million such children have been born since 1978.

ART is used mainly in developed countries. Each treatment, or cycle, costs thousands of dollars, and national health services, employer-sponsored plans, and private insurances do not usually cover the costs. Time magazine noted that “a 45-year-old woman who has gone through seven cycles of IVF can easily spend $100,000 on treatment.” Nevertheless, assisted reproduction gives hope to many infertile couples whose only alternative when it comes to having children has been adoption. Now the various infertility techniques address many of the female and male causes of infertility.*

Why So Popular?

One reason for the popularity of assisted reproduction is the modern life-style. A report published by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine states: “The average age of childbearing has increased over the past three decades as more women have pursued higher education and careers and postponed marriage. Concurrently, a large cohort of women born during the ‘Baby Boom’ (1946-1964) have reached their late reproductive years, resulting in more women in this age group seeking assistance for infertility.”

Some women may not realize how quickly their fertility declines as they get older. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, by the time a woman is 42 years old, her chances of having a baby using her own eggs are less than 10 percent. Donor eggs are thus often used for older women seeking ART treatment.

In a new twist, some infertile couples resort to embryo “adoption,” obtaining an embryo left over from the infertility treatment of another couple. It is estimated that in the United States alone, about 200,000 frozen embryos are being stored. A CBS news report recently revealed: “Embryo donation has been quietly taking place on a small scale for years.”

Not surprisingly, the developments in the field of assisted reproduction raise a number of questions. How may this kind of childbearing be viewed from an ethical and moral standpoint? What is the Bible view on this matter? These and other questions will be discussed in the next article.

*  Among the causes of female infertility are an ovulation disorder, blocked Fallopian tubes, or endometriosis. Male infertility is often associated with little or no sperm production.