| Abstract: | A nearly unanimous resolution was produced at the Deutscher Arztetag annual meeting, calling for the incorporation of standards for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer procedures into the official rules of professional conduct. The standards should specify that such procedures will be limited to the treatment of impaired fertility. Use of "lease mothers" is judged unacceptable. Extracorporally generated embryos should be implanted and not used for research except to improve the method of treatment or to identify a defective embryo. Physicians are urged to consult ethics commissions before participation in clinical or laboratory research involving IVF. |
