Book Review: Fertility and Reproduction

While science education for young people grows rapidly, in
proportion to the rate of development of science, ethics education is often
seen to lag behind. Although there are many texts aimed at high school
students based around philosophy studies, few are directed towards those who
are interested in learning more about topical issues in society and medicine. Infertility
is one of those issues that is little discussed, despite the condition
affecting up to one in six couples in the UK. IVF and other assisted
reproductive technologies can provide couples with children, but none comes
without challenging social and ethical considerations.

Fertility and Reproduction is part of a series of cross-curricular
resources for 14 to 18-year-olds, and explores debates and issues surrounding
IVF, adoption, surrogacy, 'three-parent' IVF,
eugenics and saviour siblings. It aims to provide an informative resource
looking at bioethics, and is composed of
a series of articles from a variety of newspapers, websites, government
reports, with a format that is ideal for those who seek to gain a balanced overview
of topical discussions. Its editor, Cara
Acred, has been behind similar volumes handling sensitive topics, including The
Abortion Debate and Sexual Orientation.

The book, however, does not cover the full story in detail. The discussion
on the concept of resource allocation is unsurprisingly yet disappointingly brief,
and there was no mention about the postcode lottery. Although the Issues series
to which Fertility and Reproduction belongs offers to provide information from
a UK perspective, there is little information on the current NICE, National
Institute for Health and Care Excellence, guidelines on
the use of IVF and other fertility treatments and how the guidelines are used
in the NHS. Furthermore, there is no information as to how the Health and
Social Care Act would affect fertility treatments, despite the book being
published in 2013, it still refers to primary care trusts rather than clinical
commissioning groups, although this is perhaps due to a lack of new articles on
the topic. This, however, does not detract from the information given.

Fertility and Reproduction is separated into two chapters. The former discusses
infertility, fertility myths and the pros and cons of IVF and of its alternatives.
This chapter is comprised of unbiased articles from generally reliable sources
such as the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Although the first
chapter mainly deals with fact, there is also an opinion article written by a woman
who has gone through IVF, and while it seemed like an atypical case, it gives a
fascinating insight into the human experience, reminding its readers that the
issue deals with people and not just numbers, which offers a sensitive approach
to the topic.

The latter chapter deals with reproductive ethics. While the sources have
potentially greater bias, obtaining articles from The Christian Institute (a
Christian pressure group) and PinkNews (an online newspaper for the LGBT, [lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender], community), the book does not attempt to persuade the reader to a specific
viewpoint. To a certain extent, it encourages the reader to develop their own
conclusions, and hence the book would not look out of place in a school’s
debate club. At the beginning of the book, a caveat compels the reader to
evaluate each source critically and to bear in mind that each source may have
potential bias.

Owing to its recent publication, Fertility and Reproduction is extremely up-to-date on current issues, discussing saviour sibling treatment, eugenics as
well as mitochondrial replacement, all of which have been extremely topical in
bioethics. As a resource for school students, this is useful at any level of
science knowledge as the style of writing is accessible and generally does not
use ornate prose or scientific jargon. What makes this book unique compared to other
bioethics resources is that whilst it is neither a textbook nor a revision
guide, it provides topical discussion questions at the end of the book. The glossary
and key facts at the end of the book also makes this a good accompaniment not
just for students, but also for teachers, as it can complement schemes of work,
although the glossary is somewhat measly compared to the incongruously numerous
key facts.

Overall, despite the seemingly disjunctive use of articles from various
sources, the book flows very well, with several cartoons, relevant photographs
and diagrams dotting the chapters that keep the book entertaining and appealing
to school students. Ultimately, the usefulness of the book is derived from its
sources and a sensitive approach to modern issues, allowing the reader,
be they student or teacher, to ponder about his or her place in an increasingly
ethically minded society.

Buy Fertility and Reproduction from Amazon UK.