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The standard method of reproduction is the introduction of the male sperm into the
generative organ of a female through sexual intercourse followed by fertilization, growth
and development of the conceptus and its subsequent delivery. No technical
manipulation or medication is employed as it is a physiologic process. However, modern
advancement of medicine modified the conventional method as a solution to some
specific problems of reproduction such as Artificial Insemination and In Vitro
Fertilization.
A. ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION
Artificial insemination is a medical procedure by which the semen is introduced into the
vagina by means other than copulation for the purpose of procreation. Some physicians
consider its as "therapeutic insemination.
1. In A.I.H., there is no doubt that the child is a legitimate child of the husband because
the semen came from him. No foreign blood is introduced into the family.
2. In A.I.D., with the consent of the husband, the child born must also be considered
legitimate although the fertilization semen is not from the husband. His consent to the
artificial insemination may be considered as a waiver to the illegitimate status of the
child. Even if the child is considered illegitimate, the child can be adopted by him
making the child's status legitimate.
3. In A.I.D., without the consent or if it is against the will of the husband, the child must
be considered illegitimate, specifically a child born because of adultery. This is an
intrusion into the
conjugal home of a foreign element against the will of the husband.
Consent on A. L D.:
In A.I.D. the consent and release for any future claim must be obtained by the
physician from all parties in writing. The consent of the wife is necessary to avoid
being held liable for an assault.
The consent of the husband is necessary to avoid the wife being charged with
adultery, or to avoid the question of legitimacy of the child, issues of divorce,
separation or inheritance.
The consent and release of the donor should be obtained for the unrestricted use
of the semen supplied and he should also certify in writing that he will make no
effort to ascertain the identity of the couple involved. If the donor is married, the
consent of the wife must also be obtained to the giving of semen because her
marital interest may be affected by the donation.
A woman attempted to obtain alimony from her divorced husband. The latter contended
that his former wife committed adultery because the child born is not his biological child.
The former wife claimed the child to be a product of artificial insemination. The court
held that the artificial insemination without the husband's consent constitutes moral
turpitude and adultery with the latter being defined as "the voluntary submission to
another person of the reproductive powers or faculties of guilty person" (Osford v.
Osford,68Dom Law Reports, 251 Ont. Sup. Ct. 1921).
The British House of Lords concurred with a ruling that the conception of a child by a
man other than the husband constituted adultery and that, therefore, the resulting
offspring was illegitimate (Russel v. Russel, A.C. 687 (1924) at 148).
In a decree to a separation previously granted by the court, the husband was granted to
have a weekend custody of the child born during the marriage. The wife petitioned for
an amendment of the decree arguing that because the child has resulted from A.I.D.,
the husband is not the father of the child and therefore he is not entitled to visitation
right. The court, however, predicted on the assumption that the procedure had been
performed with the consent of the
husband, rules that "the child has been potentially adopted or semi adopted
by the defendant and with the particular reference to visitation, he is entitled to the same
right as those to which a natural parent under the circumstances would be entitled
(Strand v. Strand
78N.Y.S. 2d 390(1918).
Child born by artificial insemination is entitled for support:
The husband consented in writing for artificial insemination of the wife. A male child was
conceived and born. The spouse later had a divorce and the wife was given custody of
the child. The wife later became ill and disabled so she applied for a state support of the
child. The District Attorney brought a criminal action against the husband to force him to
provide for the child's support. The court ruled that "reasonable man who, because of
his inability to procreate, actively participates and consents to his wife's artificial
insemination, knows that such behavior carries with it legal responsibilities of fatherhood
and criminal responsibility of non-support (People v. Sorenson, 66 Cal. Rptr. 7, 437 P.
2d 499 (1968).
B. IN VITRO FERTILIZATION
In Vitro Fertilization (test tube baby) is the fertilization of the egg cell by the sperm cell
extracted from the respective donors placed in an artificial medium and after reaching a
certain stage of cellular division and development:
1. Implanted into a woman's uterus, or
2. Gestation (development of the embryo to a child) in an artificial womb.
Whenever the embryo is allowed to develop in an artificial womb, it is known as
ectogenesis (extra corporeal gestation). The first recorded child born by In Vitro
Fertilization was Louise Brown who was born in England on July 24, 1978 (London
Daily Mail).
Surrogate Mother:
A surrogate mother is a woman who is not the source of the ovum and in whose uterus
the in vitro fertilized egg is implanted to develop up to full term and delivered child. The
term also applies when fertilized egg is removed from the uterus of a woman and
implanted to the surrogate mother. The surrogate becomes the gestational mother of
the child.
Reasons why the services of a surrogate mother may be necessary:
a. Necessity:
The genetic mother is unable to carry the child to term because of disease or
injury.
The genetic mother may believe either that she is too old to safely carry a child to
term, or that the child may be born with abnormalities.
The genetic mother may possess deleterious genetic traits which may be passed
on to the child.
Couple is unable to adopt a child.
b. Convenience:
A woman may not want to interrupt her career during the gestational period and
therefore seek a more convenient method of having one without changing her
actual way of life.
Problems that may arise in the agreement in the use of surrogate mother for gestational
purpose:
a. If the surrogate mother decided to abort the child contrary to the wish of the genetic
parents;
b. The surrogate mother may decide to keep the child after birth rather than surrender
him to the genetic parents;
c. The parents may decide to abort the child because of the fear that abnormality may
be present but the surrogate mother refuses to do so; and
d. If the child was born with abnormality and the parents refused to take the child from
the surrogate mother
Prepared by:
NATHANAEL M. DOMINGUEZ LLB3
LEGAL MEDICINE
CHAPTER XXVIII
1. A medical procedure by which the semen is introduced into the vagina by means
other than copulation for the purpose of procreation.
a. Artificial Insemination
b. Medical Insemination
c. Standard Method of Reproduction
d. Physiological Insemination
7. The closure of the fallopian tube in In Vitro Fertilization may be due to:
a. Complication of pelvic inflammatory disease
b. Bilateral salpingectomy due to repeated caesarian section or ectopic pregnancy
c. Tuboplasty failure or unsuccessful tubal anastomosis
d. All of the above
8. The country where the first recorded child born by In vitro Fertilization:
a. England
b. India
c. Scotland
d. Australia
9. The following are the rights of an individual that became the basis for the legality of In
Vitro Fertilization:
a. Right of procreation
b. Right of marital privacy
c. Right of self determination
d. All of the above
10. A woman who is not a source of the ovum and in whose uterus the in vitro fertilized
egg is implanted to develop up to full term and delivered child.
a. Genetic mother
b. Contracted mother
c. Surrogate mother
d. Ingestational mother
11. The ovum removed from the wife is fertilized by the sperm coming from a third party
(sperm donor) and is implanted into the wifes uterus. This situation may arise when?
a. The husband is sterile
b. The wife is sterile
c. Both the husband and wife are sterile
d. None of the husband and wife is sterile
12. What is true about the status of child born through Artificial Insemination?
a. In A.I.H, there is no doubt that the child is a legitimate child because the semen
came from husband
b. In A.I.D., with the consent of the husband, the child born is legitimate although
the fertilization semen is not from husband
c. In A.I.D., without the consent or if it is against the will of the husband, the child is
considered illegitimate, specifically that the child is born out of adultery.
d. All of the above
13. The following must be considered by the physician in the selection of donors of
semen, except.
a. Proper screening must be made of the donor including chromosome for genetic
defects.
b. The donor must have the racial characteristic and physical proportion as those of
the husband and wife.
c. The blood type must be compatible with the A.B.O. and Rh genotype of the wife.
d. The physician must ensure that the identity of the donor is known to the parents
and vice versa.
14. The removal of an unfertilized egg from a woman and placing it on the reproductive
tract of another woman.
a. Artificial Inovulation
b. Embryo Transplantation
c. Parthenogenesis
d. Cloning
15. The removal of a fertilized egg from a womans uterus to transfer to that of another
womans uterus.
a. Embryo Transplantation
b. Parthenogenesis
c. Cloning
d. Artificial Inovulation
16. A type of sexual reproduction whereby the nucleus of a female egg is removed
which contains the genetic material and replaced with the nucleus of a body cell of the
same or another woman.
a. Artificial Inovulation
b. Embryo Transplantation
c. Parthenogenesis
d. Cloning
17. A type of sexual reproduction whereby the unfertilized egg with 23 chromosome
compliment doubled its content to become a diploid cell that starts dividing as if it is a
fertilized egg without the intervention of a male sperm cell, the resulting offspring is thus
a female.
a. Embryo Transplantation
b. Parthenogenesis
c. Cloning
d. Artificial Inovulation
18. The following are the medical indications for Artificial Insemination for A.I.D or
A.I.H.D., except:
a. Absolute female sterility
b. Less than 10-25 million sperm per cc. of semen with infertility of long duration
c. Hereditary disease in the husband
d. An Rh blood incompatibility is expected to cause an abnormal baby
Prepared by:
NATHANAEL M. DOMINGUEZ LLB3