Thoughts on Assisted Reproduction

Assisted reproduction is the use of assisted reproductive technology to achieve pregnancy by artificial or partially artificial means. The results and the implication of these different techniques and technologies in the society raises questions on the morality of these acts. Are these acts always right or wrong? Are they only right for certain groups of people? Are they morally correct? Those are the kind of questions that many people have on their mind, but the plurality of arguments makes it difficult to find clear cut answers. An analysis of different arguments by bioethicists might lead us to a better understanding of the issue.

Some philosophers like Laura M. Purdy and Gillian Hanscombe argue in favor of assisted reproduction. Purdy analyzes the issue of surrogate mothering as part of a technique of assisted reproduction. She believes that surrogate mothering is just the act of taking on the burden and risks of pregnancy for another (91). She argues that forbidding this transfer of risk would be paternalistic and would lead to a limitation of women’s freedom (92). She sees in it, advantages like the creation of much happiness, the prevention of serious genetic diseases and the creation of non-traditional families (91). For her, surrogate mothering has the potential to empower women while deepening their exploitation (97).

Hanscombe believes that lesbian women should be allowed to have children and that any

Koko 2 objections can only be social (104). She thinks that these social objections are issuing from ignorance (105). She takes the example of a mother who was refused artificial insemination by donor because she was a lesbian but who still managed to do it by herself. Hanscombe thinks that “we ignore groups o...

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...belief that surrogacy is just taking on the burdens and risks for another, and her comparison of this act to the risk people take every day, suggest that some women are more trained to have children than others. A motorcyclist takes the risk to ride a motorcycle because he trained or is confident in his abilities. A women is naturally made to give birth so it is not really a burden for her. In addition, assisted reproduction itself represent a danger. A large Australian study has found a small but significant increase in the risk for birth defects in babies conceived with assisted reproductive technologies (Bakalar). Considering all methods together, there was a 28 percent greater risk for birth defects in babies conceived with fertility treatment, including increased risks for heart, muscle, urogenital and gastrointestinal defects and for cerebral palsy (Bakalar).