Imaging complications of assisted reproductive procedures

The incidence of assisted conception has increased dramatically in Europe, doubling over the past decade. Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is involved in approximately 1 % of births in the developed world. With the increasing use of ART, doctors and radiologists are more likely to encounter associated complications that are sometimes life-threatening. These complications include ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), ovarian torsion, and ectopic and heterotopic pregnancy. Awareness of these entities and their imaging features will facilitate accurate and timely diagnosis and help avoid potentially fatal consequences.peer-reviewe

Assisted conception and Embryo Research with reference to the tenets of Catholic Christianity

Religion has a considerable influence over the public’s attitudes towards science and technologies. The objective of the paper is to understand the ethical and religious problems concerning the use of embryo for research in assisting conception for infertile couples from the perspective of Catholic Christians. This paper seeks to explain our preliminary reflections on how religious communities particularly the Catholic Christian communities respond to and assess the ethics of reproductive technologies and embryo research. Christianity as a whole lacks a unified and definitive statement on when an embryo becomes a person, although fundamentalist Christians tend to be opposed to embryo experimentation. Roman Catholics tend to believe that the embryo should be treated as human life from the moment of conception or fertilisation. As opposed to this preconception I have tried to point out that a foetus is a clump of cells and lacks individuality as a conscientious human being and thus can be used for research for therapeutic reason. The paper concluded that the Church accepts techniques on embryo that respect their life. So they would allow procedures that are akin with healing and improvement of life without involving undue risks. The Church feels children should arise out of act of love between man and his wife in co-operation with God. In this regard, it may be pointed out though the creation of a child through a conjugal act in a wed lock is the preferred method since it is the most natural, least expensive one. But that does not mean, it should be the only acceptable means to conception. To state a child born using ARTs would be less perfect compared to a child born through conjugal act of husband and wife is absurd one to be mentioned

Partial Trajectory: The Story of the Altered Nuclear Transfer-Oocyte Assisted Reprogramming (ANT-OAR) Proposal

This essay aims to tell the story of the “altered nuclear transfer-oocyte assisted reprogramming,” or ANT-OAR, proposal—from its conception by Professor William Hurlbut of the President’s Council on Bioethics—to its adoption and promotion by a group of conservative, mostly Catholic philosophers, theologians and scientists—to its eventual demise in Congress. It also will give some reflections on how ANT-OAR promotes a genetically deterministic view of the human organism and can lead down a slippery slope into a future in which human cloning and human genetic engineering are more acceptable. For these reasons, it will be argued, ANT-OAR should be opposed by all who are against human genetic modification regardless of their political orientation

Transgressive technologies? Strategies of discursive containment in the representation and regulation of assisted reproductive technologies in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Drawing on a case study of the contemporary representation and regulation of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) in Aotearoa/New Zealand, this article traces the cultural anxieties evident in public, political, and media discussion and debate around the provision and use of ART, with a specific focus on the use of donor insemination and IVF by single women and lesbian couples. It documents the operation of various narrative mechanisms, normative assumptions, and discursive strategies that work to identify the legitimate uses and users of such technologies whilst simultaneously affirming conventional understandings of "gender", "motherhood", and "the family", and concludes that contemporary anxieties and ethical dilemmas provoked by women's transgressive uses of ART have been addressed through legislative changes that target certain groups of women for official surveillance and control while also effectively limiting their reproductive options

The New Ice Age: Addressing the Deficiencies in Arkansas\u27s Posthumously Conceived Children Statute

The ability to conceive a child using the preserved genetic material, or gametes, of a deceased person presents a number of legal issues for inheritance, estate planning, Social Security, and parental rights. New medical advancements in assisted reproductive technology (ART) enable individuals to conceive children after their death, complicating the conventional methods of determining heirship of the decedent under state intestacy laws. The purpose of intestacy law is to determine the succession of a decedent that dies without a will, or intestate, with the goal of carrying out the donative intent of the decedent. Intestacy law has failed to keep pace with these technological advancements, which has left the legal status of posthumously conceived children (PCC) uncertain in many states

Parental attitudes toward disclosure of the mode of conception to their child conceived by in vitro fertilization

OBJECTIVES: To survey the level of disclosure of conception method within families of children conceived using conventional IVF or ICSI and to examine the factors that may influence parental attitudes and plans for disclosure. DESIGN: An in-depth questionnaire. SETTING: Participants recruited through UK fertility clinics. PATIENTS: Parents of IVF/ICSI children aged 5-6 years (n=181, 51%). INTERVENTION: Mothers and fathers of IVF/ICSI children were sent questionnaires to complete and return in a reply paid envelope. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Completion of the questionnaire. RESULTS: Most parents had told somebody about their child’s method of conception, mostly close friends and family. Fewer (26% mothers/17% fathers) had already discussed the child’s mode of conception with their child. 58% mothers/57% fathers intended to tell their child at some point. 16% mothers/21% fathers were undecided. 4% fathers never wanted to discuss the subject with their child. Children were more likely to be told if conception was ICSI, rather than conventional IVF, and if an only child. 29% undecided fathers and 36% undecided mothers stated that they would tell their child if appropriate child-friendly explanatory literature was available. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of parents wish to tell their child at some point but are unsure about the most appropriate timing and method of disclosure. Fertility clinics may have a role in providing the necessary support. Child-friendly literature may be helpful

Assisted performance – a pragmatic conception of online learning

This paper proposes a novel theoretical perspective on the nature of online learning. Taking a socio-cultural perspective, an argument is offered for the theorisation of peer to peer learning as a variety of ‘assisted performance’. Using this theoretical lens, a case study is then offered which uses this model to frame an analysis of the nature and occurrences of online exchanges between students, and with tutors. The case study looks at two years of online discussion in a Master’s programme in a United Kingdom university. The results suggest that looking for examples of assisted performance in the online exchanges can offer insights into the learning that can take place in online discussion and offers one way of recognising meaningful online interaction, and therefore point to ways of promoting such exchanges