Assisted hatching is a relatively new breakthrough in fertility treatments in which the fertility specialist assists embryos to hatch while in a woman's womb. Most often coupled with another fertility treatment, such as in vitro fertilization, this procedure can increase your chance of a successful pregnancy, although it is not without ethical implications.
Scientific Interference in Impregnation
There are people who--due to cultural, religious or just individual beliefs--find ethical implications in all forms of fertility treatment because it centers on scientific interference in what is usually a natural, or some say spiritual, occurrence. There are different degrees of this distaste for fertility treatment--for example, there are treatments, such as gamete intrafallopian transfer, that involve less scientific interference in the actual fertilization process--but assisted hatching is perhaps among the most widely contested. This is because a doctor will use a tool in your uterus to break up an embryo's outer layer of protein and help it hatch and take root in the uterus, quite literally interfering in the moment of an embryo's successful conception.
Embryo Manipulation
Although often unintentional, assisted hatching can result in some side effects that may not have occurred had you chosen not to have the procedure. Because the procedure is so delicate, negative side effects include the child (or children) being at greater risk for developmental disorders or even miscarriage. The procedure may also result in a higher instance of identical twins (or triplets or greater) because the tool used to break through the outer layer of protein may actually split the embryo into two identical halves. However, with that potential positive comes the possibility of having conjoined twins if the split isn't clean enough. There's also the ethical complication of women potentially opting for this procedure in the hopes of having identical twins, further manipulating the process of childbirth.
Postponing Childbirth
Assisted hatching is actually recommended for women who are 37 and older and who have already unsuccessfully tried fertility treatments without this added assistance. In other words, it's a last-ditch effort to help women nearing the end of their healthy childbirth years successfully become pregnant, even if giving birth at a later age greatly increases both your chance and your baby's (or babies') chances of coming down with complications during pregnancy. Even if you have no objections to fertility treatments to assist you in conception, you may be concerned about these potential medical complications. Some women wish to give birth themselves despite the risks, but there are always other options, such as adoption, fostering and surrogacy.
You may not share the opinions of those who believe in the ethical implications of assisted hatching, but it's important that you consider all sides of the issue before you decide to go through with it. Aside from ethical implications, there are also the potential medical complications that you should discuss with your fertility specialist before you make your decision.
