The AMA was founded in part to establish the first national code of medical ethics. Today the Code is widely recognized as authoritative ethics guidance for physicians through its Principles of Medical Ethics interpreted in Opinions of AMA’s Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs that address the evolving challenges of contemporary practice.
Therapeutic donor insemination using sperm from a woman’s partner or a third-party donor can enable a woman or couple who might not otherwise be able to do so to fulfill the important life choice of becoming a parent (or parents). However, the procedure also raises ethical considerations about safety for the woman and potential offspring, donor privacy, and the disposition of frozen semen, as well as the use of screening to select the sex of a resulting embryo.