Eric J. Forman, MD, medical and laboratory director at the Columbia University Fertility Center in New York, believes the future of reproductive medicine hangs on the answer to one question: Are embryos people?
"Despite the explosion of genetic technology that has revolutionized reproductive medicine over the past decade, I fear that an answer to the question of personhood based on faith rather than science could hinder our ability to improve the chance of having a healthy child," Dr. Forman, who also serves as an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia Irving University Medical Center in New York City, wrote in an op-ed for STAT.
Here are five insights from the op-ed:
1. More than 8 million babies have been born using in vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technologies since 1978, according to recent data cited by Dr. Forman. "Couples who never would have conceived due to blocked Fallopian tubes or severely low sperm counts can now have children of their own," he wrote.
2. The trend of patients choosing genetic testing to avoid life-threatening inherited conditions in their children is also growing in popularity and practice.
"The goal of this process is to achieve a healthy child, which now occurs at a remarkably high rate. For specific genetic disorders, preimplantation genetic testing can reduce the odds of having a child with a lethal disorder from 25 to 50 percent to less than 1 percent," Dr. Forman said in the op-ed.
3. He believes babies, not embryos, are spared from complications attributed to genetic disease and prematurity due preimplantation genetic testing.
"I was incredibly optimistic about the future of this field," Dr. Forman said of his time training as an obstetrician/gynecologist specializing in reproductive endocrinology. "There was no doubt that we would continue to make IVF safer and more effective, helping more and more people have healthy children, one baby at a time."
4. However, Dr. Forman worries about the future of reproductive medicine in the current political climate. He is concerned physicians will no longer be able to advance the field and prospective parents will no longer have the resources to select healthy embryos.
"Now I feel obliged to counsel them that there is a chance that these technologies won't be permitted in the future if embryos are considered to be persons and that their children might not have the option to avoid passing down a severe disease trait," Dr. Forman wrote.
5. So far 11 states have introduced “personhood” bills aiming to classify embryos as people, none of which have passed.
"The outcome of these cases could significantly limit the ability to practice reproductive medicine techniques such as IVF with preimplantation genetic testing," he concluded.
More articles on clinical leadership and infection control:
Can neonatal screening effectively predict late-onset sepsis?
How researchers discovered medical leeches were causing antibiotic-resistant infections: 10 things to know
3-pronged intervention improves intraoperative antibiotic redosing compliance