CASE

OF LOUIE BROWN • Natural procreation – it separates human procreation from

2G – GROUP 1 conjugal union
• Diluting Parenthood: Weakening Family bonding – because of
Brief Background disappearance of the emotional-physical union between partners
- Dr. Patrick Steptoe, a gynecologist at Oldham General • Child’s Right to Origin – access to his/her information about
Hospital, and Dr. Robert Edwards, a physiologist at his/her genetic background and mode of conception
Cambridge University, had been actively working on finding
an alternative solution for conception since 1966. While Drs. Legal regulation of fertility treatment
Steptoe and Edwards had successfully found a way to fertilize is obtained at the cost of sacrificing many human lives-through
an egg outside a woman's body, they were still troubled by abortion. IVF is morally illicit.
problems after replacing the fertilized egg back into the • The most important question was whether this baby was going to
woman's uterus. By 1977, all of the pregnancies resulting be healthy. Had being outside the womb, even for just a
from their procedure (about 80) had lasted only a few, short
couple of days, harmed the egg? 

weeks. Lesley Brown became different when she successfully • If the baby had medical problems, did the parents and doctors
passed the first few weeks of pregnancy. Lesley and John have a right to play with nature and thus bring it into the
Brown were a young couple from Bristol who had been world? Doctors also worried that if the baby wasn't
unable to conceive for nine years. Lesley Brown had blocked normal, would the process be blamed whether or not it
fallopian tubes. Having gone from doctor to doctor for help
was the cause? 

to no avail, she was referred to Dr. Patrick Steptoe in 1976.
• When does life begin? If human life begins at conception, are
On November 10, 1977, Lesley Brown underwent the very
doctors killing potential humans when they discard
experimental in vitro ("in glass") fertilization procedure.
fertilized eggs? (Doctors may remove several eggs from
- In vitro fertilization is a process where an egg is removed
the woman and may discard some that have been
from the woman’s ovaries which is then harvested and
fertilized.) 

fertilized with a male’s sperm in the laboratory. This is then
• Is this process a foreshadowing of what is to come? Will there be
implanted in the woman’s uterus where it develops to term.
surrogate mothers? Was Aldous Huxley predicting the
Unlike all the other experimental in vitro fertilization
future when he described breeding farms in his book
pregnancies, Lesley passed week after week and then month
after month with no apparent problems. Then on July 25, Brave New World? 

1978, Louise Joy Brown became the world’s first successful • Turning child into possession- Child as a possession instead of a
“test-tube” baby. It was an overall success that there weren’t gift 

any abnormalities seen. Today, the process of in vitro
fertilization is considered commonplace and utilized by This actually varies widely between countries, with some having a
infertile couples around the world. formal legal framework, and others relying on official guidelines. The
International Federation of Fertility Societies Surveillance 2010
II. Ethical Issues report explains in detail the different legislation in over 100
- Lesley Brown's pregnancy gave hope to hundreds of countries.
thousands of couples not able to conceive. Yet, as many • Countries with laws and statutes covering the legal issues of
cheered this new medical breakthrough, others were fertility treatment: Canada, France, Finland, Germany, UK 

worried about future implications. It has caused • Countries where legal issues around fertility treatment are left
controversy with the religious leaders expressing concern to official guidelines include: Australia, Cyprus, India,
on the artificial intervention. Mexico, Poland, USA 

- The first ethical problem as regards to in vitro fertilization is • Regulations and assisted conception treatment: Laws and
the “legal status of the human embryo.” Is it a human being regulations governing Assisted Conception Treatments
in the embryonic stage or is it considered a “thing”? The varies between different countries. In some countries such
answer to this question is decisive because IVF involves the as USA and Australia, each state has its own legislation. 

loss of embryos during the different phases of • Forms of Assisted Conceptions Treatment: Some countries
the
procedure. forbid all forms of assisted conception treatments using
- The excess embryos are discarded while others are utilized donor sperm, donor eggs, donor embryos and surrogacy
for
research. Some would argue that it should be taken such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, while others allow donor
into consideration that
the embryo is already a human sperm but no egg or embryo donation and no surrogacy as
being because life begins at fertilization.
 in Norway and Japan. 

- From the moment there is already human life, a life full of • The number of embryos to be transferred: Some countries have
value like any
other human being. Therefore, the legislation with limit to the maximum number of embryos
manipulation of an embryo or leaving
an embryo to die to be transferred such as United Kingdom, France,
violates a fundamental right. However some may Australia and Germany. 

argue
that the embryo is not a human being but a pre-
human until it has reached
a certain phase of development Approximately a few countries have guidelines specify limit but no
has taken place. Thus, we now question
when is the enforcement mechanism such as Egypt, USA and Japan. Whereas,
beginning of life, the individual nature of human embryo some countries have neither legislation nor guidelines such as Greece
or
the moment of infusion of the soul into the body. This is and Canada.
the most solid
argument against IVF. Despite that it can The IFFS Surveillance 2010 which looked at the roles and regulations
solve problems and bring joy to III. couples who are unable relating to assisted conception of more than 100 countries found 14
countries had an upper limit of three embryos, 12 had a limit of four,
to conceive it should still not be ignored that this
and six countries had a limit of five. Kuwait had a limit of six embryos.
Panama had no limit on the number of embryos transferred. In the
United Kingdom, The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
(HFEA) The maximum number of embryos to be replaced in a women
aged 35 year and younger in her first IVF treatment is two and three
if older than 40 or have previous failed IVF treatment.

New Belgium legislation imposes on women less than 36 years a
restriction to single embryo transfer (SET) in their first treatment
cycle.

• Freezing spare embryos: Human embryo freezing is allowed in

some countries such as UK and not allowed in others as in Sweden.
The storage period also varies from a limited period of 2 years as in
Denmark to 10 years as in UK and unlimited period for infertile
couples as in Finland.

• Anonymity of gamete donors: Countries such as UK, Sweden,

Denmark and Norway have passed new legislation abolishing the
anonymity of gamete donors (egg, sperm and embryo donors).

• Treating single women: Treating single women is allowed in some

countries but not in others such as Sweden and Denmark. Even in
the same countries such as Australia, some estate will allow single
women to be treated while others do not.

• Mixing eggs, sperm or embryos from more than one person: This
is forbidden in the United Kingdom (HFEA Act).

• Regulations and assisted conception treatment: Laws and

regulations governing Assisted Conception Treatments varies
between different countries. In some countries such as USA and
Australia, each state has its own legislation.

• Forms of Assisted Conceptions Treatment: Some countries forbid

all forms of assisted conception treatments using donor sperm,
donor eggs, donor embryos and surrogacy such as Egypt and Saudi
Arabia, while others allow donor sperm but no egg or embryo
donation and no surrogacy as in Norway and Japan.

• In the Philippines: it was only in 1996 that the 1st IVF center, RM
lab, was established with the subsequent birth of their 1st IVF baby
that same year.

Today: Ms Brown married Wesley Mullinder in 2004 and the couple
have two sons. She has a sister, Natalie, who was also conceived
with IVF. Her parents have both died. There are now thought to be
close to six million IVF babies across the world