IVF treatment

Bentham’s hedonistic act utilitarianism seeks to maximise the balance of pleasure over pain measured by the hedonic calculus which uses seven criteria (acronym PRRICED) to gauge the pleasure derived from different actions. In this calculation everyone is to count as one and no-one as more than one – we all have the same stake in the utility calculus. The issue of IVF hinges on the likely future pleasure of the newly created child, versus the pleasure or pain to the mother and any other individuals affected by the IVF decision. For example, a hedonistic act utilitarian might see the future pleasure of a wanted child ad the pleasure to the parents as vastly outweighing any possible pain – so the rational decision would be to have IVF treatment to create one more new happy being. Because of the difficulty determining likely consequences it is very difficult to do this calculation in practice – with the added problem that the hedonic calculus is frought with difficulty, as how do we know my hedon is the same value as your hedon of pleasure? How too can we be sure of the likely psychological results of unsuccessful IVF treatment for the mother? For the 25% of couples who have difficulty conceiving it would seem clear from an act utilitarian perspective that such treatments are good for general happiness.