2.6 the nature and importance of medical treatments for infertility

Dan Cohn-Sherbok, a rabbi and professor of Judaism, agrees that Donor Inseminated children should be told of their origins. Now 58. he did not find out that he was born by DI until he was in his late twenties. “ Idid not have a good relationship with my father and I asked my mother whether he was really my father. She took a deep breath and told me…it was very traumatic. To my father, I was a walking symbol of his infertility The times 22 january 2004 What do you think? Would you have told him early, would you never had told him? Why?

Stewardship is a responsibility… we tend the earth for our children Stewardship is a responsibility… we tend the earth for our children. What if we cannot have children? The lesson is an exploration of this question… the medical solutions and then the moral and religious dilemmas raised by it. The skills you are developing today are : At the same time you are learning empathy and the importance of the “Spirit of the Law”

All will know the different medical treatment for infertility Most should understand the different religious views on the treatments Some could answer a GCSE question on the topic

Keywords Artificial insemination Embryo Infertility In-vitro fertilisation Surrogacy

Intro All the medical treatments now being used by couples in Britain are supervised by the human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority HFEA, though there have been arguments about the morality of theses treatments, since 1 April 2005, children born from donated sperm, eggs or embryos (Donor inseminated-DI) have the right to discover their genetic parents when they are eighteen.

Activity 1: What could be the problems associated to a couple which cannot conceive? In groups, back of the book in 3 minutes

Feeling of inadequacy Pressure of the step family Self accusation: divorce… Going through a long process of adoption Religious probnlems and stigmas

So why is it important to have infertility treatments. More and more couples are having difficulties (modern life) Male infertility is on the rise ( 1.5 million men in the UK alone) Many couples get infertility treatments