Ethical Issues In Susan's Dilemma

Susan is facing a dilemma. Her ex-husband has recently been killed in a car accident following a divorce brought on by Susan’s desire to have children and her inability to do so. After three cycles of in vitro fertilization (IVF), Susan was still unable to become pregnant and the already strained marriage fell apart. Susan’s husband was killed not long after. Susan still wants a child and decides to use the remaining embryos created through IVF in attempts to have a baby. She believes that her ex-husband’s name could still live on through the child, but the likelihood of conceiving is low; the embryos have been frozen for some time and Susan is at an age that conceiving is difficult. Her family is worried that Brad may not have wanted Susan to use the embryos and that Susan attempts of conceiving are desperate. Susan’s dilemma is whether or not she should use the remaining embryos in attempts to have a child biologically related to her late ex-husband. The following information is unknown, but could be relevant in deciding the most ethical course of action: what medical problems Susan has that does not allow her to have …show more content…
Beginning with the choice to use IVF as a means to become pregnant, a natural law theorist would argue that because Susan chose to disrupt the natural way of reproduction, the very existence of these embryos is immoral. Consequently, the couple who then uses these donated embryos would also be considered immoral. There is also the chance that the embryos will not be used because of their age. Furthermore, the embryos may not be used by another couple because the embryos would not be genetically related to the new couple. They would then either be destroyed or remain frozen until they are no longer viable. Both fates could be equated to the death of an innocent life to a Christian or others, who believe that life begins at fertilization, and accordingly, seen as