Again, Society Is Playing Catch-Up : UCI fertility clinic case shows thorny issues that can be generated on medical frontiers
The controversy over the UC Irvine Center for Reproductive Health provides yet another example of the complexity of legal, ethical and administrative issues that attend the wonders of advancement in reproductive technology.
Dr. Ricardo H. Asch, founder of an internationally acclaimed fertility clinic at the UCI Medical Center in Orange, has been widely respected as a pioneer in developing infertility treatments and as a physician who helped his patients realize their dreams of becoming parents. Over the weekend, he and his two partners at the clinic were placed on leave from the university faculty pending the outcome of investigations into medical and research practices at the center. Asch, denying wrongdoing and criticizing the university, resigned.
The dispute centers on allegations that Asch took a woman’s eggs without her permission in 1993 and then waited until last month to ask her to sign a consent form; a clinic patient alleges that one of the eggs was implanted in a second woman, who subsequently gave birth. Asch’s lawyer says his client doesn’t even know the identities of his accusers and denies improper use of the eggs, seeking medical consent after the fact and asking that medical records be changed.
An independent investigation is warranted, and it is good that Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi decided to review the allegations with UCI police and California Medical Board investigators. But while efforts are made to get the facts, this case offers an example of why clear safeguards and oversight are needed to protect all involved in such scientific complexities. In Southern California alone there have been several instances of litigation in recent years arising over disputes related to surrogate parenting.
In the Asch case the university alleges, among other things, that unapproved research was conducted and that patient files and embryology reports were withheld. Asch’s lawyer says that administrative assistance was supposed to be provided by the university and that the doctor assumed that others were keeping track of embryos and records.
Wherever the truth lies, the new developments in human reproduction are fraught with pitfalls. All kinds of things can happen. People change their minds, memories are hazy and, of course, outright fraud is possible. Without clear agreements, guidelines and airtight supervision, there’s bound to be trouble on this new scientific frontier.
