ABSTRACT
The risks associated with in vitro fertilization (IVF) hold implications at many levels. For patients and caregivers, the weight of these risks ought to form an integral part of the informed-consent process. IVF clients use a variety of coping mechanisms that allow them to feel in control. IVF tests and interventions focus almost exclusively on the female body even when infertility results from a male factor, so women carry the greater proportion of burden and risks. Psychosocial and intellectual development in the IVF children has been studied and appears, at the very least, normal. As in adoption, there may be demand for a uniform policy that both protects donors and permits children to discover details of their genetic history. The only children who can be adopted quickly, easily, and cheaply through public adoption agencies in most developed countries are older, nonwhite, or disabled, and most couples do not want to adopt these children.
