ABSTRACT
Medically assisted reproduction has shown an exponential growth, as has the number of children born. Currently, 1-3% of all children are born after medical assistance in Europe. Moreover, the treatment options are steadily expanding. More and more patients can be helped with technically more and more complicated solutions. Since the early start with in vitro fertilization (IVF), a spectrum of ethical problems has been generated by this technology. Some of these problems, such as the moral status of the embryo, have received an inordinate amount of attention while others, such as justice in the distribution of and access to treatment, have been largely ignored. In this contribution, two ubiquitous elements in the evaluation of ART are analyzed: the responsibility of the physician and the welfare of the child. A large part will be focused on where these elements overlap, e.g. the physician’s responsibility for the well-being of the future offspring.
