Published in 1998, this book is a collected volume of papers from the first conference of the European Network for Biomedical ethics. The main subject of this conference is the ethical assessment of IVF in view of its concrete application as an infertility treatment and the consideration of possible alternatives for use.

Part 1: Introduction 1. Introduction and Development of IVF and its Ethical Regulation, Robert G. Edwards 2. Two Decades of IVF: A Critical Appraisal, Lene Koch 3. Interdisciplinary and the Specific Responsibility of Ethics Towards Science and Technology, Paul van Tongeren 4. Different Ethical Perspectives in IVF Discussion, Dietmar Mieth Part 2: Infertility 1. A Personal Account of Infertility, Phil Taylor and Kathie Taylor 2. Different Kinds of Infertility, Possible Reasons for Infertility, Hans-Rudolf Tinneberg and Ulrich Gohring 3. Accepting Infertility, Ian D. Cooke 4. Social Aspects of Infertility, Agneta Sutton 5. Psychosocial Aspects of Infertility and Treatment, Lone Schmidt 6. Is the Desire for a Child too Strong? Or is There a Right to a Child of One’s Own?, Walter Lesch 7. To an Ethics of Desire, Paul van Tongeren Part 3: Indications for in Vitro Fertilisation 1. Infertility Treatment Without Consideration of Differentiated Indications, Hans-Rudolf Tinneberg 2. Infertility Propagated to the Next Generation by in Vitro Fertilisation, Dieter Meschede and Jurgen Horst 3. What Shall We do With the Unexplained Infertility?, Urban Wiesing 4. Alternative, Non-IVF Therapies, Aldo Campana and Dilys Walker 5. Ethical Considerations Concerning Alternatives to IVF Therapies, Monika Stuhlinger Part 4: Counselling in the Process of Decision-Making 1. Ethical Decision-Making for in Vitro Fertilisation in a Multicultural Setting, Farhan Yazdani 2. The Process of Ethical Decision-Making, Hille Haker 3. Counselling Practice, Ian D. Cooke 4. Ethical Neutrality in Counselling? The Challenge of Infertility, Stella Reiter-Theil 5. The Illusion of Neutrality in Counselling Practice, Walter Lesch 6. Genetic Counselling, Ulrike Mau Part 5: IVF-Treatment: Chances and Risks 1. Success of in Vitro Fertilisation, Brian A. Lieberman 2. Success Rates in IVF, Urban Weising 3. IVF, its Success Rates and their Ethical Significance, Alberto Bondolfi 4. Multiple Pregnancy, Brian A. Lieberman 5. Multifetal Pregnancies: Reduction or Prevention?, Guido de Wert 6. Multifetal Pregnancies: Considerations in Couples with a Genetic Problem, Ulrike Mau 7. The Effects of IVF on the Women Involved, Barbara Maier 8. In Vitro Fertilisation and Freedom of Action, Elisabeth Hildt 9. Freedom Through Science?, Gunter Virt Part 6: Human Embryos in IVF 1. Human Embryos in Medical Practice, Ian D. Cooke 2. Are there Inconsistencies in our Ethical Understanding of the Human Embryo?, Eve-Marie Engels 3. Supernumerary Embryos: Some Social Issues, Anne McLaren 4. Social Issues Surrounding Supernumerary Embryos, Carmen Kaminsky 5. The Status of Human Embryos in Irish Medical Practice, Deirdre Madden 6. The Fate of Supernumerary Embryos: What do Patients Think about It?, Yvon Englert 7. Putting IVF-Clients’ Views on the Fate of Their Embryos into Context, Sigrid Graumann Part 7: The Status of Human Embryos 1. The Moral Status of Potential Persons, Klaus Steigleder 2. The Moral and Legal Status of the Human Embryo, Deryck Beyleveld 3. The Legal Status of the Human Embryo, Hans-Georg Koch 4. Legal Regulations in Europe, Calum MacKellar 5. A Distinct Category? About the Moral Status of Human Surplus Embryos, Egbert Schroten 6. Research on Human Embryos, Lorna Leaston Part 8: Connecting Lines Between IVF and Preimplantation Diagnosis and Gene Therapy 1. Connecting Lines from a Medical Point of View, Hansjakob Muller 2. The Possible Impact of Preimplantation Diagnosis for Infertile Couples, Dieter Meschede and Jurgen Horst 3. Legal Regulation of IVF and Preimplantation Diagnosis in Germany, Stefan Muller 4. Connecting Lines from an Ethical Point of View, Paul Schotsmans 5. How ‘Tailor-Made’ do we Want our Offspring to be?, Paulus Liening Part 9: A Fundamental Approach: Technicalisation of Reproduction 1. Limits of Reproductive Technology, Brian A. Lieberman 2. Do Modern Reproductive Technologies Violate Human Dignity?, Dieter Birnbacher 3. Some Observations on Human Dignity and Human Rights, Deryck Beyleveld 4. The ‘Essentials’ of Human Dignity, Walter Lesch 5. Moral Boundaries of Reproductive Technology. Some Preliminary Remarks, Egbert Schroten 6. Nature and Technics. Approaching the Underlying Concepts in IVF, Barbara Maier 7. Can Nature Serve as a Criterium for the Use of Reproductive Technologies?, Hub Zwart.