Individual Topical Review Paper Outline

Biomedical Technology and it's social impact on families.

i. Specific Innovation of Interest

In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) is an infertility treatment where the sperm is unable to reach to and fertilize the egg. The process includes extracting eggs and sperms, then fertilizing them in a laboratory dish. Up to three successfully fertilised eggs are then put back into the woman’s body and the rest are kept for later use. Hence, a couple previously unable to bear children is able to do so.

Currently, Singaporeans can receive IVF treatment in the country and even receive government subsidies if they are meet the requirements set by the government. However, gender selection via IVF is forbidden in Singapore unless it is to prevent inheritable diseases related to gender.

ii. Rationale for Selecting this Innovation

IVF, along with other assisted reproductive technologies, provides alternative-conceiving methods for previously impotent couples. Since the first IVF baby Louise Brown, over a million IVF babies have been born. Hence, technology increases the chances of these previously impotent couples to have children and set up a family. Since families are cornerstones of societies, by logical extension, IVF contributes to the formation of communities of people.

However, people have been using IVF in bid of bearing more “desirable” children, such as selection of a specific gender. Since the process of IVF includes fertilizing the egg outside the human body, selection of the egg or genetic modifications can be made before insertion of the fertilised eggs back to the human body.

Hence in the future, designer babies may result of IVF. However, this may be detrimental to the society because there will be controversies related to who should be held responsible if genetic errors are made and the child is born with defects. On the other hand, there may be elitist connotations tied to designer babies since they have no flaws, possibly creating a different class of humans – since people who engage in genetic modification for their babies should be the more economically well off as well.

iii. Proposed Approach to Development of Paper

Historical Perspective:

-       Previous notions of family – father, mother and child.

-       Children have to come about via natural processes

-       Gender biasness towards male babies

-       More children the better

Current Situation:

-       Notion of family: father, mother and child. However, possible for sperm or egg donation to produce child with the consensus of parents in the case that one of the parents are impotent.

-       Fertilisation of egg can be done outside of human body

-       Some gender biasness still exists and fuelled by means to obtain desired gender babies. On the other hand, barren couple may see that obtaining a child is so difficult through the tedious process of IVF and decide to let nature take course, accept any baby as a gift that comes their way.

-       Having fewer children at younger age is fine, since IVF is likely to solve woes of not being able to get pregnant at a slighter higher age.

Future Considerations:

-       More widespread gender selection through IVF in neighbouring countries and Singapore law has to change to provide for this increase in demand

-       Change in human ratios for example, more Chinese in Singapore if Chinese are more receptive to such technology, may cause controversies in Singapore

-       Increasing stress in Singapore to do well, seek perfect baby via IVF, might cause rift between “perfect” and “imperfect”, widen disparities between groups of people, etc.

-       IVF advancing on to producing the baby outside the human body, since already obtained the fertilised egg outside the human body.