Maternal mortality or maternal morality?

A critique of proposals to introduce maternal upper age limits for Assisted Human Reproduction services in Ireland.

Authors

  • Sophie Donnelly

Keywords:

Assisted Human Reproduction, In-Vitro Fertillization, Upper-Age Limits, Infertility, Regulation, Policy

Abstract

The process of in-vitro fertilization for post-menopausal women is an issue which generates fevered publicity, rancorous debate, and ethical dilemmas. Since the 1990s, assisted human reproduction (AHR) via IVF has become more affordable, widespread, and successful. While IVF is most commonly used to treat pre-menopausal women struggling with fertility issues, at an increased level, postmenopausal women are seeking treatment to implant fertilized embryos long after their own natural egg production has ceased. In recent months, the Irish Department of Health has taken steps to regulate the provision of AHR services in Ireland. This article aims to contribute to the legal and ethical discussion surrounding maternal age limits, considering current medical facts, ethical principles, and alternative models of AHR. If there is an age at which reproduction is deemed too risky, should formal legal restrictions be placed on access to infertility treatment based on age? Is that consistent with international cedes of human rights that recognize a right to reproduce? Should doctors support the autonomy and desire of older women to reproduce, or in fact should state-regulated infertility programmes seek to actively outlaw AHR for older patients?

References

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Published

2019-11-24

How to Cite

Donnelly, S. (2019). Maternal mortality or maternal morality? A critique of proposals to introduce maternal upper age limits for Assisted Human Reproduction services in Ireland. Trinity Postgraduate Review Journal, 18(1), 155–174. Retrieved from https://ojs.tchpc.tcd.ie/index.php/tpr/article/view/1311

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 1 (2019): Being Human and Transnationalism

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2019 Sophie Donnelly

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

This is an Open Access article and Trinity Postgraduate Review (TPR) authors retain the copyright of their manuscripts. All TPR Open Access articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-SA 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction of the content in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited and attributed and that if the material is remixed, transformed, or built upon, the new material is distributed under the same licence as the original.