13:13 24th October 2019 | Ethics and Standards

Human beings come with different value frameworks, and the objective of ethical discussions is to define a framework that meets the needs of our patients while at the same time protects the reputation and integrity of the profession. In IVF treatment, it focuses the medical practitioner on the needs of the woman, her partner, the child to be born as well as ensuring that the cultural needs of the society are upheld. Potter Stewart, associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, defines "ethics as knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do" [3]. This concept is crucial when one considers the balance of power in the doctor-patient relationship. The doctor has all the power and the patient could be open to abuse and to quote James Madison Jnr, the American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, philosopher and Founding Father – "The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted" [4].