Toward a Public Health Approach to Infertility: The Ethical Dimensions of Infertility Prevention

While many experts and organizations have recognized infertility as a public health issue, most governments have not yet adopted a public health approach to infertility. This article argues in favor of such an approach by discussing the various implications of infertility for public health. We use a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public health ethics 2013-11, Vol.6 (3), p.287-301
Main Authors: Lemoine, Marie-Eve, Ravitsky, Vardit
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Communication
Demographic indicators
Infertility
Interventionism
Organization
Public health
Scarcity
U.S.A
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Summary:While many experts and organizations have recognized infertility as a public health issue, most governments have not yet adopted a public health approach to infertility. This article argues in favor of such an approach by discussing the various implications of infertility for public health. We use a conceptual framework that focuses on the dual meaning of the term 'public' in this context: the health of the public, as opposed to that of individuals, and the public/collective nature of the required interventions. This analysis highlights the need for a comprehensive public health approach toward infertility, points to some initiatives that are already in place and demonstrates that prevention is currently a neglected—yet much needed—element. We move on to discuss the sensitive nature of prevention initiatives as a probable explanation for their scarcity. We illustrate the complexity of prevention through an analysis of an infertility prevention campaign previously conducted in the United States, which provoked significant controversy. We use a public health communication ethics framework to expose the strengths and the shortcomings of this campaign, and conclude that prevention initiatives targeting infertility can indeed be conducted in a sensible way that promotes autonomy while improving public health.
ISSN:1754-9973
1754-9981
DOI:10.1093/phe/pht026