Description
This week you will submit the final draft of your term paper. Your term paper should:
Discuss the technical aspects of your topic in general terms.
Discuss the public policy debates relevant to the topic you choose. This section should cover arguments that favor and oppose the use of the techniques or products.
Express your personal opinion regarding the topic’s importance and the validity of the pro and con arguments. Within the personal opinion/conclusion, frame your position with an ethical theory from the six workable theories covered in this course. (Kant; Act Utilitarianism; Rule Utilitarianism; Care Ethics; Virtue Ethics; and Social Contract)
Your submission must include:
A title page
The body of the paper, which includes 4–6 content pages, not including title or reference pages
At least three references from textbooks, websites, and articles that provide adequate justification and support your claim
Subheadings (technical aspects, public policy, and personal opinion/conclusion)
Appropriate in-text citations throughout the paper
A reference list with only the sources used in the body of the paper (All sources should be less than five years old unless recent research is not available, and at least one reference must be a peer-reviewed article from a professional journal. Do not use Wikipedia or an encyclopedia as they are not considered reliable academic sources and will not be accepted.)
APA7 style formatting throughout your paper, using 12-point Times New Roman
I attached both the topic and the outline for this paper. Please use that for the paper
Feel free to message for clarification
Unformatted Attachment Preview
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Week 2 Term Paper: Topic
Topic
How in vitro fertilization is beneficial for society.
Why I Chose This Topic
IVF is a technological advancement that has significantly improved countless people’s
lives by enabling singles and couples to overcome infertility and start creating their ideal
families.
Pro Arguments
Autonomy is an essential ethical principle that highlights an individual’s right to make
decisions regarding their body and reproductive choices (Asplund, 2020). IVF respects and
acknowledges the autonomy of individuals or couples who choose the treatment to address
infertility issues and exercise their reproductive rights. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that
evaluates actions according to their complete utility or benefit to society (Chiu, 2018). IVF can
be acceptable according to utilitarian principles if it maximizes happiness and well-being by
enabling individuals to have children and start families.
Con Arguments
Natural law theory can raise ethical questions and objections regarding in vitro
fertilization (IVF) because it strongly emphasizes specific moral principles and the biological
order of reproduction (Turczynski et al., 2022). IVF is frequently criticized because it involves
manipulating the reproductive process. Religious ethics may also be opposed to assistive
reproductive technologies. Judaism is more accepting of these advancements, as they follow
God’s commandment of procreation. Christianity is less tolerant as their religion considers
embryos as human beings (Muñoz, 2023).
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My Current Stance on the Topic
The pro side is most compelling and has the best argument supporting the use of IVF.
Although I agree with IVF being used, Natural Law Theory brings up important issues that
should be discussed. Religious beliefs should be considered in this topic as well.
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References
Asplund, K. (2020, May). Use of in vitro fertilization-ethical issues. Upsala journal of medical
sciences. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7721055/
Chiu, K. Y. (2018). Does rule utilitarianism support in vitro fertilization (IVF)?. The Asian
Conference on Ethics, Religion & Philosophy 2018 Official Conference
Proceedings. https://papers.iafor.org/wpcontent/uploads/papers/acerp2018/ACERP2018_40574.pdf
Muñoz, M. G. (2023, March). A reexamination of in vitro fertilization – researchgate. Christian
bioethics.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369821535_A_Reexamination_of_In_Vitro_Fe
rtilization
Turczynski, C., Dodd, A., & Urlakis, M. A. (2022, November). Assisted Reproductive
Technology and natural law: How seven years as an embryologist revealed IVF’s
disordered approach to patient care. The Linacre quarterly.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36518716/
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Week 4 Term Paper: Outline
I.
Introduction
a. Background Information: The technological advancements in the medical field
have led to Vitro Fertilization (IVF) that boosts clinical practices. Robert Edwards
and Patrick Steptoe, a British physiologist and gynecologist, respectively invented
IVF. Since 1978, after the birth of Louise Brown, a test tube baby, and despite the
ethical concerns it raises about embryo status, this technology has shaped
reproductive medicine by solving fertility complications through intracytoplasmic
sperm injection (ICSI) and pre-implantation genetic testing.
II.
Body Paragraph 1 – Technical aspects of your topic
Topic Sentence IVF is an assisted reproductive technology (ART) that fertilizes an
egg extracted from the ovary through the ICSI technique to solve infertility issues.
i. Supporting detail 1: The IVF protocol creates an embryo that is cultured
in a laboratory incubator for some days, most three to five days, before
transferred to the uterus.
ii. Supporting detail 2: After the embryo transfer, a woman undergoes a
pregnancy test after 11 to 14 days (Cozzolino et al., 2019).
iii. Supporting detail 3: The success of this pregnancy has been evident in
Turkey, where, for at least 20 years, the country has recorded a significant
success rate in IVF treatment (Lee & Zhang, 2022). In the United States,
females under 35 doing their first IVF cycle have shown a 55.1% success
rate (Lee & Zhang, 2022).
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III.
Body Paragraph 2 – Description of public policy debates surrounding your topic
a. Transition: Despite the significant success rate of IVF treatment, there are
proposed anti-abortion laws and religious concerns intending to undermine its
progress.
b. Topic Sentence: The U.S. states are debating on passing “personhood” laws that
are likely to illegalize the practice of IVF.
i. Supporting detail 1: The law gives legal rights to embryos (fertilized
eggs) created through IVF and not implanted in a woman. These rights
mean embryos will have the same legal rights as children.
ii. Supporting detail 2: The law will make it illegal for IVF facilities to
freeze fertilized eggs (Letterie & Fox, 2023).
iii. Supporting detail 3: In 2019, Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a priest, termed IVF a
practice that contradicts the human dignity of offspring (Letterie & Fox,
2023). The priest stated that the treatment is intrinsically evil because it
allows for the ‘manufacturing’ of offspring.
IV.
Body Paragraph 3 – Pro Arguments
a. Transition: Even though public policy and religious debates appear to dismiss
IFV treatment, one’s autonomy gives the right to make decisions about one’s
body, and disputes cannot override reproductive choices.
b. Topic Sentence: Provides necessary medical and scientific information to
understand the issue. IVF is a clinical practice that recognizes the autonomy of
patients opting for it to solve their infertility complications and enjoy the exercise
of their reproductive rights.
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i. Supporting detail 1: From the Utilitarianism viewpoint, IVF maximizes
the happiness and well-being of sterile individuals in society who can
conceive and start families; hence, it remains acceptable. However, a
natural law rejects IVF since it contradicts the natural conception.
ii. Supporting detail 2: Since IFV’s introduction in America in 1981, about
1.9% of all babies are born through IVF (Tsigdinos, 2022). Couples
experiencing infertility issues after receiving IVF regain their mental wellbeing and start a happy family.
iii. Supporting detail 3: Nevertheless, IVF disregards divine command ethics
(Lott, 2020).
V.
Body Paragraph 4 – Con Arguments
a. Transition: Conversely, IVF presents religious and ethical issues. Under natural
law theory, the treatment raises ethical concerns since the theory embraces moral
principles and the biological order of reproduction.
b. Topic Sentence: IVF manipulates the whole reproductive system as characterized
by the extraction of an egg from the ovary for external fertilization in the lab. This
extraction violates natural law on reproduction and contradicts God’s commands.
Supporting detail 1: While the Vatican accepts IVF, traditional Christian views hold
that reproductive technologies remain forbidden. The views emphasize that a
fertilized egg acquires its moral status as a human being at the start of conception.
Supporting detail 2: Clinical practices of egg extraction from the ovary do not keep
the ideal of natural motherhood intact. As a result, the practices contravene the divine
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command that terms any action that goes against God’s command as morally wrong
(Lott, 2020).
Supporting detail 3: Nevertheless, Judaism accepts reproductive technologies
because they argue that these advancements comply with God’s commandment of
procreation (Farid & Tasnim, 2023).
VI.
Opinion and Conclusion
a. Transition: Undoubtedly, the pro side is the most compelling and has the best
argument that supports IVF treatment.
b. Statement of Opinion: IVF has brought grace, hope, and compassion toward
people struggling with infertility. It has shaped reproductive clinical practices by
solving infertility issues, overcoming medical challenges undermining natural
conception, and supporting same-sex couples (Keller et al., 2023). Although I
agree with IVF treatment, Natural Law Theory and Divine Command ethics,
bring up crucial issues that call for consideration of religious beliefs.
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References
Cozzolino, M., Troiano, G., & Esencan, E. (2019). Bed rest after an embryo transfer: a
systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 300, 11211130.
Farid, M. S., & Tasnim, S. (2023). Assisted Reproductive Technologies: Comparing Abrahamic
Monotheistic Religions. Asian Bioethics Review, 15(1), 53-67.
Keller, E., Botha, W., & Chambers, G. M. (2023). Does in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment
provide good value for money? A cost-benefit analysis. Frontiers in Global Women’s
Health, 4, 971553.
Lee, E., & Zhang, J. (2022). Which assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment strategy is
the most clinically and cost-effective for women of advanced maternal age: a Markov
model. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), 1197.
Letterie, G., & Fox, D. (2023). Legal personhood and frozen embryos: implications for fertility
patients and providers in post-Roe America. Journal of Law and the Biosciences, 10(1),
lsad006.
Lott, M. (2020). Moral Duties and Divine Commands: Is Kantian Religion Coherent?. Faith and
Philosophy, 37(1), 57-76.
Tsigdinos, P. M. (2022). An IVF survivor unravels ‘fertility’industry narratives. Journal of
Marketing Management, 38(5-6), 443-459.
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