Ethics in vivo. On ethical work in Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) in Argentina

Abstract

This article presents preliminary results from a study on Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. PGD is a technique used in assisted reproduction which allows to know the genetic constitution of the embryo before its transfer to the uterus. Its main objective is to rule out the presence of genetic anomalies in the fertilized egg to be transferred. The aim of the study was to understand the ways in which practitioners providing PGD negotiate the ethical aspects of the technique. Seven interviews with reproductive practitioners in charge of providing PGD were carried out. Basing on the analysis of three scenes that illustrate the types of ethical work carried out in fertility clinics, the article argues that decisions on the action course to follow (to transfer only a healthy embryo, to transfer or not embryos with anomalies) are not simply based on the ethical protocol or on the results of the test. Rather, these decisions are also influenced by other clinical aspects inherent to the situation to be evaluated. Examples of the latter are the reproductive history of the couple, the amount of available embryos for transfer, or the available knowledge on the eventually found anomaly. These findings help to highlight the importance of studying the ethical aspects of reproductive practice in their context of occurrence. They also contribute to consider the imbrication between the ethical negotiations of fertility practitioners and the material, sociotechnical and cognitive devices that also take part in the provision of fertility services.