Birth of octuplets causes ethical stir

By now, most people have heard about the 33-year-old California woman who gave birth to octuplets. The astonishing thing is that she conceived the babies by having the embryos implanted. In addition, she already has six other children.

In assisted reproduction circles, HUGE ethical questions are swirling. Just for starters, as the Washington Post reports,

. . . [T]he medical community, particularly fertility doctors, [says] it goes against the mission of their work: to minimize high-risk, multiple-birth pregnancy and safely provide a woman with a single healthy baby. It is also raising questions about the lax regulations covering doctors and clinics that provide such services.

The reality is that assisted reproduction is governed more by guidelines than by strict regulation.