Artificial Insemination

Nowadays, there have been many artificial methods that would enable couples to be parents of a child that has a direct genetic relation to them. One of these is the Artificial Insemination (AI), which dates back to the late 1700s when Scottish-born surgeon John Hunter successfully impregnated a woman with her husband’s sperm (Britannica.com, n.d). As a matter of fact, Article 164 of the Philippine Family Code mentioned AI stating that children born out of this medical procedure are considered as legitimate children of the husband and wife. 

What is Artificial Insemination and how is it done?

“Artificial insemination is the process of inserting sperm directly into the woman’s cervix or uterus using a device” (Beauman, 2008). It is artificial in the sense that pregnancy, which is the main objective, is achieved other than the natural insemination process called sexual intercourse. But its quality of being “artificial” ends there as the egg is fertilized within the uterus of the female rather than in an artificial medium or in vitro fertilization.

But before all the process is to be conducted, we propose that the couple should first undergo counseling in order for them to be emotionally ready and that both the husband and wife agrees with the whole process of artificial insemination. The couple should also be financially stable and are capable to spend a significant amount of money for the whole process. And lastly, there should be a support system, usually a clique of friends and relatives, and consult a psychiatrist for both husband and wife in case the process of artificial insemination fails and will not achieve pregnancy.

There is a necessity for Artificial Insemination.

I think this necessity encompasses a big chunk of the reasons why AI must be wholly accepted. The necessity of AI stems from the fact that heterosexual couples like to become parents by having a child genetically related to them, consequently fulfilling their desire of establishing a family. That being said, AI in this manner is simply a means to a sought after end.

The following are the conditions wherein pregnancy is unattainable, hence AI is preferred: 

A. Both or either of the couple

1. A partner, having healthy sperms/eggs, is unable to engage in sexual intercourse due to some medical condition or physical disability.

B. Women

1. The female is infertile due to cervical factor infertility - the cervix is supposed to produce a mucus that helps sperm travel to the womb. “With cervical factor infertility, the cervix is either not producing enough of this mucus, or it is producing mucus containing sperm killing substances” (Beauman, 2008). Thus, IUI is an ideal treatment for cervical factory infertility because it can be used to place sperm directly into the uterus, bypassing the cervix in the process.

2. The woman has moderate endometriosis, a condition where the cells from the womb lining start to grow in places they should not within the woman's reproductive system e.g. ovaries or fallopian tubes. This results to infertility but can be solved through AI in moderate cases.

3. The female partner has semen allergy. Due to certain proteins in the sperm, the woman may exhibit an allergic reaction. Most of the proteins of the sperm would be removed before insertion through IUI.

C. Men

1. The male partner is unable to produce enough sperm, or has a low sperm count for successful fertilization.

2. The man is impotent or has erectile dysfunction where he is unable to obtain and maintain an erection during sexual intercourse.

3. The male partner is infertile as a result of a medical treatment like radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Before the treatment, he will be given the chance to freeze some of his sperm.

My arguments focused on this: 

(1) Child produce by AI completes the family that infertile couples long desired for.

First let me state to you the definition of family based on Article. 149 and 150 of the Family Code of the Philippines. “The family, being the foundation of the nation, is a basic social institution which public policy cherishes and protects. The family relations include those: between husband and wife; between parents and children; among other ascendants and descendants; and among brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half-blood.

One of the oldest and most important values of Filipino cultural tradition is its having close family ties. This value of us has been one of the foundations of our society. For Filipinos, there is nothing more important than our family -that we are a family centered race. According to Margaret Mead an anthropologist:

“As far back as our knowledge takes us, human beings have lived in families. We know of no period when this was not so. We know of no people who have succeeded for long in dissolving the family or displacing it… Again and again, in spite of proposals for change and actual experiments, human societies have reaffirmed their dependence on the family as the basic unit of human living—the family of father, mother and children.’’ (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2011)

And in a paper written by Michelle Ong in 2000, she said that:

“Filipino family is child-centered, with a married couple becoming a family only with the birth of a child” (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2011).

This means that when couples decided to get married they include the thought of building a family along with children of their own. So basically, marriage is about procreating and the child is seen as a symbol and fruit of the married couple’s love for each other. Being said, having a child is a necessity in order for a married couple to feel that they are a complete family. This completeness is also the desire of couples who are infertile and are unfortunate to have a child by means of natural way and who refused to resort in adoption. 

In our rich culture, there are rituals that are believed to be helpful for married couples who are childless to be able to conceive and have a child. It is called the Obando Fertility Rites or natively called the “sayaw sa Obando”. It is held every month of May in Obando, Bulacan. Childless couples hold their idols and dance in the streets of Obando with a hope that they will be blessed with a child they long desired for. This kind of ritual has been practiced even before the arrival of the spaniards. Though many couples said that they were blessed with a child after dancing in the street of Obando, there is still no accurate explanation and result that after dancing you will be able to conceive a child. So what is the need for us to stick in this conventional way if there is an alternative scientific way which is already tested and proven? We believe that artificial insemination in its sense could be the means to fulfill the desire of infertile married Filipino couples to have a child that is genetically related to them. 

Although it is considered as artificial, it does not violate the concept of ‘procreation’ as its main goal is to produce an offspring out of love. The couple is too passionate to manifest their love in such a way that they would go against the odds even if their physical body or reproductive system holds them back. That is how important having a child to them. This is where I end my case.

References

Beauman, J. (2008). The Pros And Cons Of Artificial Insemination: What To Consider Before Artificial Insemination. Lifescript. Retrieved on November 09, 2014 from http://www.lifescript.com/health/archive/the_pros_and_cons_ of_artificial_insemination.aspx.

Deborah. (2011, May 14). Obando Fertility Rites: Dance Your Way to Fertility. Retrieved November 12, 2014, from http://infertilityphilippines.blogspot.com/2011/05/oba ndo-fertility-rites-dance-your-way.html

Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2013). Artificial insemination. Britannica.com. Retrieved on November 09, 2014 from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/37134/artifi cial- insemination.

Executive Order No. 209. (1987). Family Code of the Philippines. In The Family (pp. 38-40). Manila: Malacanang.

Philippine Daily Inquirer. (2011, September 20). Family Ties. Retrieved November 12, 2014, from Inquirer.net: http://opinion.inquirer.net/12441/family-ties/comment- page-1

Travel Guide to the Philippines. (n.d.). Blood is thicker than water: Close Family Ties of the Filipinos. Retrieved November 12, 2014, from Travel to the Philippines: http://www.philippines.abouttravelingtheworld.com/phil ippines-culture/philippines-family/blood-is-thicker-th an-water-close-family-ties-of-the-filipinos/