Ethical Considerations in the Treatment of Infertility in Women with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

Abstract

An estimated 120,000 to 160,000 women in the United States are currently living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.¹ The majority of these women are of reproductive age, and many of the risk factors that are linked to HIV infection (e.g., unsafe sexual activities) may also predispose them to infertility. Since the early years of the HIV epidemic, the treatment of infertility in HIV-infected couples has been controversial. Among the issues that reproductive endocrinologists who treat infertile women with HIV infection have had to confront are the possibility of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and the likelihood that the mother will . . .