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| Raga Elmazain Libya |
Fertility drugs are used to treat many conditions that cause infertility. The most common fertility drugs are Clomiphene and FSH which are known as “Ovulation Agents.” According to Fertility Reproductive Medicine (2014), Clomiphene works as a stimulator that releases the needed hormones to cause ovulation. These drugs in general, and Clomiphene therapy specifically, are prescribed for the first five consecutive days of the cycle. This therapy may take three to six monthly cycles to determine the right dose to stimulate ovulation.
Scientifically, no doctor can deny that Clomiphene has achieved successful results among thousands of women. However, this drug has resulted in numerous medical complications such as multiple gestation, a risk of future cancer, and an increased chance of miscarriage.Multiple Gestation
One of the first negative results that Clomiphene causes is an increase of multiple gestation, which can lead to multiple births. Women who take Clomiphene will have the risk of giving birth to more than one baby. Recent studies have proved that this medicine can make women ovulate more eggs and as a result, having multiple babies is likely to happen. Consequently, the babies will not be born healthy because of their small size and weight which can lead them to have the typical range of disabilities for premature babies.
This is one of the consequences that force society to ponder whether it is legal for doctors to implant more than one or two embryos in a woman womb. As a matter of fact, this question has been asked by a large number of people and many bioethicists have discussed this issue rigorously because it is against all humanity standards. According to Andrews (2009),”women ‘s bodies are not large enough to hold a litter” (para 9). In addition, no doctor has the right to decide how many children a woman has, especially if the children face the risk of being born unhealthy.
A Risk of Future Cancer
The second dire effect of using fertility drugs is that they increase women’s chances of getting ovarian cancer later in life. Recent research suggests that these risky consequences will affect women who have taken many doses of these drugs. According to Gadducci, A., Guerrier M and Genazzani, A. (2013). “In 1992, the cumulative analysis of 12 US case- control studies revealed that women who received ovulation – inducing drugs had approximately three-fold higher incidence of invasive ovarian carcinoma”( p. 30).
Subsequently, the risk is greater because doctors do not follow a specific guideline for treatment or even use a regulated prescription of medicine. Therefore, the long-term use of this drug is enough to affect hormones and causes cancer. This serious effect raised many questions by bioethicists about the widespread of fertility drugs and their horrible consequences. Currently, there are neither any laws limiting the medical distribution of such drugs nor any repercussions against those doctors who endanger patients’ lives.
Risk of Miscarriage
The third negative result which is associated with Clomiphene is that a large number of miscarriage cases. Fertility Reproductive Medicine (2014), reported that 20-25% of miscarriage had been caused by Clomiphene which is higher than the normal rate of miscarriage (15%). . many scientists have agreed that fertility drugs are the first cause of a greater number of women miscarriage because these pills prevent fertilized eggs from developing normally.
For this reason, many women have suffered healthy and psychologically circumstances. with no question any woman who try this horrible experience will had physical problems such as damage in her follicles which can prevent her from getting pregnant again as well as living in depression because she has lost her baby and her dream of being a mother. Many writers and bioethicists wrote and discussed issues about the illegal decisions that doctors provide for their patients although, they are aware of these drugs risks. Some of the bioethicists stated that fertility doctors do not care for patient’s health. Caplan (2009), calls “a wallet biopsy” to see only if patients can pay the bill.
No doubt, Fertility drugs are available to treat many cases of infertility and achieved a large number of success. However, the consequences of these drugs are dire but doctors still prescribe such horrible pills without even informing patients that they may get ovarian cancer or they are likely to lose their babies due to these pills which affect the hormone and prevent it from developing normally. In fact some doctors think that since patient want to become a mother, so they believe their goal is to make this dream comes true and they do not care for any other consequences.
I believe those doctors must be precise and careful by giving these drugs for urgent infertility cases only and they should explain to patients the negative effects of these drugs so patient can decide whether she takes these pills or not. Furthermore, the government must apply strict laws that ban taking too many fertility drugs.
As discussed, fertility drugs, while helpful in some instances can lead to many dire consequences. Among those are multiple babies, a risk of cancer and risk of miscarriage.
After all these considerations I believe that these consequences can be reduced or even eliminated if doctors follow a guideline or organized plan for prescribing such drugs in addition, the government ‘s role can be effective by applying unbreakable laws towards anyone who sells or buy fertility drugs without signed prescription.
References
1) Fertility & Reproductive Medicine. (2014). Fertility pill. Retrieved fromhttp://www.mainlinefertility.com/educational-information/fertility-pills/
2) Gadducci, A., Guerriero, M., Genazzani A. (2013). Fertility drug use and risk of ovarian tumors: A debated clinical challenge. Gynecological Endocrinology, 29(1), 30-35. Doi:10.3109/09513590.2012.705382
3) Goodman. E. (2009). The ethical failures of fertility treatment. Boston Globe. Retrieved fromhttp://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/02/06/the_ethical_failures_of_fertility_treatment/
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