Fertility Treatment Flashcards
(32 cards)
Define fertility treatment
Medical treatment to hep a woman become pregnant.
Define clone
An individual organism of cell produces asexually from one ancestor to which they are genetically identical.
Define genetic engineering
The deliberate modification of the characteristics of an organism by manipulating its genetic material
Define sacred/sanctity
Holy, having something of God or the divine
Define sanctity of life
The belief that all life is given by God and is therefore sacred
When is fertility treatment available?
When there are genetic problems such as the man is unable to produce healthy sperm or the woman is not producing eggs.
What is one of the most common forms of fertility treatment?
IVF (in-vitro fertilisation)
What is IVF and how does it work?
It is when doctors put healthy sperm and a human egg together to be fertilised in a test tube. Embryos (usually two) are then placed inside a woman’s uterus if they are ok where they will continue to grow.
What is the result of IVF?
Hopefully a successful pregnancy as well as spare embryos due to multiple being used in IVF.
What are the three basic issues?
God alone is the creator of life
God gave humans a soul
God created humans in his image
How do Christians respond to issues raised on fertility treatment?
Christians do not agree with fertility treatment. Roman Catholics teach that infertility must be accepted as part of gods plan for humanity. Life is a gift from God (sanctity of life) and Christians trust that God has a purpose for each human life.
What do some Christians believe about donors?
Some Christians think it is wrong to use sperm or eggs from a donor because it bring a third person into the relationship and it goes against the belief that partners should be faithful.
What is fertility treatment morally equivalent to?
“Playing god”
What is one point to support fertility treatment?
Infertility treatment can make people very unhappy and god would not want people to be unhappy.
Why do some Christians go against using embryos for medical research?
Because they see it as playing god. They think it is treating human life as a means to an end rather than so intrinsically valuable and because the embryo is not in a position to give consent.
Why do some people agree with fertility treatment?
Some believe that embryo research is acceptable becUse it means some good comes out of abortions.
What does embryo research involve?
In embryo human embryos are studied and used in order to find ways of preventing and curing illnesses. Human tissue from the embryos can be implanted into living patients to slow down serious diseases of the nervous system such as motor neurone disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Define euthanasia
When someone is helped to die without pain before they would have died naturally
Define suicide
Deliberately ending one’s own life
What does the term euthanasia come from?
It comes from true Greek words ‘eu’ meaning good and ‘Thanatos’ meaning death. So euthanasia means a good death.
Do Christians believe we have the right to chose when we die?
Most Christians believe that god gives life and only god can decide when a life should be ended. Choosing to die, either by euthanasia or suicide, would be a sin. However, some Christians believe that as humans have free will they have a choice between life and death.
What is euthanasia also known as?
Mercy killing, meaning good or gentle death and is used to describe situations where death is deliberately chosen either by the person or by people close to them if they are unable to make the choice themselves.
Where can you carry out euthanasia?
It is against the law in the uk but legal elsewhere, such as the Netherlands and Switzerland.
What types of euthanasia are there?
Voluntary, known as ‘assisted suicide’. Involuntary, which is when people decide someone’s life should end. Passive euthanasia, which involves the withdrawal of treatment (which is not illegal in the uk) and if the patient requests this then treatment must be stopped.
