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Chapter 15 - Ethical Issues in the Use of Assisted Reproductive Technology in Women over Age 40

from Section 10 - Ethics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2022

By
Nicole Yoder  and
Gwendolyn P. Quinn
Edited by
Dimitrios S. Nikolaou  and
David B. Seifer
Dimitrios S. Nikolaou
Affiliation:
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London
David B. Seifer
Affiliation:
Yale Reproductive Medicine, New Haven, CT
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Summary

The movement toward increasing maternal age comes with many new challenges. As reproductive physicians now see increasingly older patients, they are also confronted with complex ethical questions regarding the medical, psychological, and psychosocial implications of providing services to this population. It is well established that increased maternal age is associated with many obstetric complications. These complications may have both short and long-term effects on the mother as well as the fetus and child. In addition to medical complications, many providers are concerned about psychosocial ramifications of pregnancies at the extremes of maternal age. These concerns largely pertain to the well-being of children born to older parents, and are often subject to societal and cultural norms. These factors combined have led many to question the ethics of providing ART to patients in their 40s and beyond, however most ethical scrutiny has been aimed at post-menopausal mothers and those greater than 50 years of age. This chapter explores the ethical issues and available guidance in relation to this group of patients and the practical application of medical ethics and the core ethical principles.

Keywords

Medical ethicsethical principlespsychosocialsocietal normaculturalpostmenopausal mothersautonomybeneficencenonmaleficencejustice
Type
Chapter
Information
Optimizing the Management of Fertility in Women over 40 , pp. 173 - 179
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

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