Legal Aspects of Iatrogenic Multiple Pregnancy

Document Type : Ethics, Legal, Social, Counseling Article

Authors

1 Hospital Saint Antoine, Paris, France

2 Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Abstract

During Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) procedures, the transfer of a single embryo dramatically reduces the rate of multiple pregnancy. Proper information, therefore, should be delivered to patients before embryo transfer. In many countries, regulations limit, according to age of the patient, the number of embryos to be transferred. Selective fetal reduction should not be considered as a suitable alternative to a single embryo transfer policy. The international federation of obstetricians and gynaecologists (FIGO) recommendations on Multifetal reduction outline that the priority should be a careful planning and monitoring of infertility treatment for the reduction or avoidance of multiple pregnancy.

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