Lesson 7

• Artificial insemination (AI)


  Depositing a man's semen in the vagina, cervical canal or uterus through the use of instruments to bring about conception unattained or unattainable by sexual intercourse
• Natural insemination


  A man and a woman have sexual intercourse in order to start a family
• Artificial insemination


  The deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's uterus or cervix through in vitro fertilization
• Types of artificial insemination

  • Homologous insemination or artificial insemination by husband (AIH)
  • Heterologous insemination or artificial insemination by donor (AID)
• Beneficiaries of artificial insemination

  • Women who desire to give birth to their own child who may be in a lesbian relationship
  • Single women
  • Women who are in a heterosexual relationship but with a male partner who suffers from male infertility
• Reasons why a woman would use artificial insemination

  • A woman's immune system may be rejecting her partner's sperm as invading molecules
  • Women who have issues with the cervix: cervical scarring, cervical blockage from endometriosis, thick cervical mucus
• Arguments in favor of artificial insemination


  • You or your partner have trouble with intercourse
  • One or both of you have fertility problems
  • You don't have a male partner
• Artificial insemination success rate

  Women under 40 years old have a more than 50% chance of achieving a successful pregnancy after undergoing six cycles of IUI, with a higher success rate of over 75% after 12 cycles
• Artificial insemination law in the Philippines

  There are no specific laws and regulations on IVF in the Philippines. IVF is allowed in the Philippines under a certain condition. R.A 10354, otherwise known as "Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012".
• Artificial insemination legal issues


  • The welfare of the child, who has the right to fit into a comprehensive family relationship
  • Ethical challenges around its uses in psychotherapy that require in-depth consideration on the topics of respect for autonomy, access to treatment, non-discrimination, fulfillment of people's needs, protection of dignity, and data privacy
• Artificial insemination procedure

  1. Physical exam

  2. Fertility drugs and monitoring

  3. Preparing the sperm

  4. Insertion of the sperm

  5. Rest
• Types of artificial insemination

  • Intracervical insemination (ICI)
  • Intrauterine insemination (IUI)
  • Intrauterine tuboperitoneal insemination (IUTPI)
  • Intratubal insemination (ITI)
• Justification for AIH

  • Husband's impotence
  • Anatomical defects of a husband's urethra
  • Oligospermia
  • Spinal injury
  • Underwent vasectomy
  • Anatomical problem of the wife
• Justification for AID

  • Azoospermia
  • Husband is carrier of hereditary disease
  • Wife's oocytes are defective
  • Wife's anatomical problem
• In vivo fertilization


  A procedure that encompasses the process of fertilizing an egg within the female reproductive tract, mirroring the natural fertilization process that transpires within the human body
• In vitro fertilization


  One or more eggs are surgically removed from a woman's ovary, fertilized with her husband's sperm in a laboratory dish and developed in the dish for a few days after which a tiny embryo is transferred into the woman's uterus in the hope that pregnancy will proceed normally
• Differences between in vivo and in vitro

  • In vivo describes a medical experiment or a test that is performed on a living organism, e.g. a human being or a laboratory animal
  • In vitro is a medical experiment or a study that is performed ONLY in a laboratory dish or a test tube
  • Vivo fertilization is the fertilization of a ripe egg WITHIN the uterus of a fertile donor female
  • Vitro fertilization is a process of fertilization where an egg is combined with sperm outside the body
• Other ethical issues with artificial reproduction

  • Bypassing the natural method of conception
  • The creation of life in the laboratory
  • Fertilization of more embryos than will be needed
  • Discarding of excess embryos
  • Unnatural environment for embryos
  • Use of untested technology
  • Not affordable for many
  • Misallocation of medical resources
  • Creation of embryos, then freezing them, and keeping them "in limbo"
  • Exposure of embryos to unnatural substances
  • Destruction of embryos in research
  • Potential to create, select and modify embryos
  • Facilitation of the idea that embryos are commodities
  • Financial rewards for IVF doctors dissuade them from recommending other methods to couples
  • Infertility is treated as a disease and not as a symptom of underlying medical problems
• Surrogate motherhood


  A surrogacy arrangement or surrogacy agreement is the carrying of a pregnancy for intended parents
• Surrogate


  is a substitute or deputy for another person in a specific role and may refer to: surrogate pregnancy, sexual surrogates
• Surrogacy


  A surrogacy arrangement or surrogacy agreement is the carrying of a pregnancy for intended parents
• Surrogate


  A substitute or deputy for another person in a specific role
• Types of surrogates

  • Surrogate pregnancy
  • Sexual surrogates
  • Surrogate marriage
• Surrogate mother


  A woman who agrees to carry a pregnancy to term for a subfertile couple
• Gestational surrogacy

  1. Embryo created via IVF using eggs and sperm of intended parents or donors, then transferred to surrogate

  2. Surrogate carries pregnancy but is not biologically related to child
• Gestational surrogacy


  • Intended parents can maintain genetic link to child
  • Legally less complicated as surrogate is not biologically related
• Traditional surrogacy


  1. Surrogate uses her own egg and is artificially inseminated with intended father's or donor sperm

  2. Surrogate is biologically related to child and must relinquish parental rights
• Traditional surrogacy


  • Usually less expensive than gestational surrogacy
  • Intended mother does not need medical procedures
• Genetic mother


  Woman whose contribution was the ovum and genes
• Gestational mother


  Woman whose uterus was used to nurture and develop the embryo
• Social mother


  Woman who rears the baby after birth
• Altruistic surrogacy


  Surrogate mother is not paid, offers womb as an act of altruism
• Commercial surrogacy


  Surrogate mother receives compensation for carrying the child
• Sexual surrogacy


  Surrogate partners hired by individuals experiencing sexual dysfunction to provide direct sexual activity
• Surrogate marriage


  Arrangement where another woman substitutes to bear children for the husband when the wife is infertile or dies young
• The idea of surrogate motherhood is morally wrong
• Surrogate motherhood degrades the role and value of mother
• Surrogate motherhood puts the unborn children into dangerous circumstances
• Ethical issues with surrogacy

  • What if the surrogate decides to maintain her privacy?
  • What if the surrogate and the spouse violate the abstention clause?
  • What if the surrogate decides to keep the baby?
  • What if the surrogate with genetic ties demands to visit her child?
  • Is handing over a child after delivery for a fee baby-selling?
• Women may participate in surrogacy to save their marriage, but this violates the principle of unitive and procreative aspects of marriage