{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T12:19:16Z","timestamp":1785586756960,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,21]],"date-time":"2023-09-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1695254400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Bioethics"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>In\u2010vitro fertilization clinics across the world currently use the body mass index (BMI) to assess risk for and determine access to in\u2010vitro fertilization (IVF); however, clinics vary widely in both setting specific BMI limits for access to IVF and articulating the reasons for their policies. Given that scholars have begun to question the usefulness of BMI for individual health risk assessment, it is striking that ethicists have not yet systematically evaluated the reasons given for using BMI in assessing individuals' risk in IVF treatments. In this paper, I provide the first systematic analysis of the chief arguments currently offered by IVF programs for using BMI as a criterion for risk assessment. Specifically, I articulate empirical concerns about the success of IVF in high\u2010BMI patients, practical concerns about the ability of high\u2010BMI patients to safely undergo procedures associated with IVF, and ethical concerns about the risk\u2010to\u2010reward ratio for high\u2010BMI patients and their potential children. I advance a series of objections to those arguments, using empirical data regarding IVF procedures and analogies with other high\u2010risk conditions including systemic lupus erythematosus, and science regarding the diagnosis of BMI\u2010correlated comorbidities such as high blood pressure or diabetes to argue that BMI alone is not a reasonable criterion for risk assessment in IVF; moreover, the usage of BMI may involve unacceptable violations of the bioethical principles of justice and respect for autonomy. Instead, I hold that IVF programs should rely on more precise laboratory and clinical measurements to evaluate risk in IVF.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/bioe.13224","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,21]],"date-time":"2023-09-21T11:09:28Z","timestamp":1695294568000},"page":"879-885","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The ethics of using body mass index in in\u2010vitro fertilization risk assessment"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"37","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2620-359X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Valerie","family":"Williams","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Philosophy Emmanuel College Boston Massachusetts USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,21]]},"container-title":["Bioethics"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1111\/bioe.13224","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,28]],"date-time":"2023-10-28T14:49:50Z","timestamp":1698504590000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/bioe.13224"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,21]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,11]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1111\/bioe.13224"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/bioe.13224","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["0269-9702","1467-8519"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0269-9702","type":"print"},{"value":"1467-8519","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,21]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2022-09-27","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2023-09-05","order":1,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2023-09-21","order":2,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}