Ethics and Reproductive Technology
Reproductive technology has come a long way in the last twenty years and continues to make expansive advances. The question "where do babies come from" is becoming harder and harder to answer. The response used to sound something like "when a man and a woman love each other very much…" now with in vitro fertilization, fertility drugs, and sperm/egg donors as well as future advances the answer will take on a new twist "…they go to see a doctor and look through a catalog to pick what kind of baby they want."
That is already true to some degree today. If a man or a woman is infertile they can look for sperm or egg donors, try fertility drugs or use in vitro fertilization to bring together their own genetic material in a petri dish. In the case of donors, potential parents are poring over the donor's medical history, physical description, and social standing in order to find a worthy candidate to supply the genetic material of their offspring. This process has several moral implications. "Superior" donors, educated people, models, and other genetically "elite" are costing more on the genetic market. This practice is turning human beings into a commodity. Is it morally sound to be able put a price on a person?
Will the new genetically "superior" offspring have more worth in context to the rest of society? One can answer these questions with the observation that even in society today some people are consider higher than others. We live in a class system, therefore there would be no real deviation should genetically "superior" be considered the top of the social pyramid. It would only be changing who is at the top, and how the pinnacle is measured, not the actual system...
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The future seems very scientific, and maybe even bleak. It's not a question of what if this could happen; it's more of a question of when. Are we destined to live in a society ruled by the genetically elite where natural born humans are seen as defects? Will the human race eradicate itself by mixing closely related genetic material until we are all just a product of incestuous genes?
Most of the schools of thought that we've studied seem to condemn these scientific practices, but maybe these new technologies will result in the creation of new philosophical schools of thought. There are positive aspects to reproductive technology, people who may not have been able to have children have been afforded the opportunity to do so, potentially fatal diseases will be eliminated, and the overall quality of life will increase, at least in the beginning.
To choose for their children, the world’s wealthy class will soon have options such as tall, pretty, athletic, intelligent, blue eyes, and blonde hair. Occasionally referred to as similar to “the eugenics of Hitler’s Third Reich” (“Designer Babies” n.p.), the new genetics technology is causing differences in people’s opinions, despite altering DNA before implantation is “just around the corner.” (Thadani n.p.). A recent advance in genetically altering embryos coined “designer babies” produces controversy about the morality of this process.
The advancement and continued developments of third-party assisted reproductive medical practices has allowed many prospective parents, regardless of their marital status, age, or sexual orientation, to have a new opportunity for genetically or biologically connected children. With these developments come a number of rather complex ethical issues and ongoing discussions regarding assisted reproduction within our society today. These issues include the use of reproductive drugs, gestational services such as surrogacy as well as the rights of those seeking these drugs and services and the responsibilities of the professionals who offer and practice these services.
What do one think of when they hear the words “Designer Babies”? A couple designing their own baby of course, and it’s become just that. Technology has made it possible for there to be a way for doctors to modify a babies characteristics and its health. Genetically altering human embryos is morally wrong, and can cause a disservice to the parents and the child its effecting.
Seven-foot, blonde haired, blue-eyed super-humans bearing the swastika and marching in perfect Aryan rhythm, bred to be smarter, stronger, superior. This is a typical image when people hear the word eugenics, but there are two distinct branches: negative eugenics, which looks at removing undesirables and degenerates from society, and positive eugenics, which looks to promote the positive hereditary traits within society. In this essay I will Look at both sides of the eugenics argument in order to find a conclusion.
No other element of the Women’s Rights Movement has generated as much controversy as the debate over reproductive rights. As the movement gained momentum so did the demand for birth control, sex education, family planning and the repeal of all abortion laws. On January 22, 1973 the Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision which declared abortion "fundamental right.” The ruling recognized the right of the individual “to be free from unwanted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the right of a woman to decide whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.” (US Supreme Court, 1973) This federal-level ruling took effect, legalizing abortion for all women nationwide.
As women, it is important to remember that the reproductive freedoms we now have can be easily taken away. Some people take for granted the accessibility to birth control, condoms, and abortion. President Bush has initiated policies since coming into office that threaten women’s choices. As the Bush administration takes over, it is important for women and men to come together to support women’s rights. “Bush is setting a tone for anti-choice legislation, so I expect that any legislator who is anti-choice will put something in this year,” said Jessica Morgan, president of the Baltimore chapter of the National Organization for Women (Koenig, B2). Legislative, executive, and judicial action can very possibly come together during this administration to limit or eliminate women’s reproductive freedom.
In our society, there are many ethical dilemmas that we are faced with that are virtually impossible to solve. One of the most difficult and controversial issues that we are faced with is abortion. There are many strong arguments both for and against the right to have an abortion which are so complicated that it becomes impossible to resolve. The complexity of this issue lies in the different aspects of the argument. The essence of a person, rights, and who is entitled to these rights, are a few of the many aspects which are very difficult to define. There are also issues of what circumstances would justify abortion. Because the issue of abortion is virtually impossible to solve, all one can hope to do is understand the different aspects of the argument so that if he or she is faced with that issue in their own lives, they would be able to make educated and thoughtful decisions in dealing with it.
"Reproductive Technologies." Bioethics for Students: How Do We Know What’s Right?, edited by Steven G. Post, vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 1999. Opposing Viewpoints in
Test tube babies have long been stigmatized by society as the unnatural results of scientific dabbling. The words `test tube baby' have been used by school children as an insult, and many adults have seen an artificial means of giving birth as something perhaps only necessary for a lesbian woman, or a luxury item only available to the elite few. The reality is that assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have been helping infertile couples have children since 1978.1 The methods of in vitro fertilization, it's variants, and the other ART procedures are ways for persons that would otherwise have no hope of conception to conceive and, in a rapidly growing percentage of cases, give birth to healthy babies. As the technology has developed, the quality and range of assistance has developed as well. At present, the means of assisted reproduction and the capabilities of these procedures has grown at a somewhat dizzying pace. However, thought to the repercussions of the applications of ART are being disregarded to some extent while the public's knowledge and the understanding of embryologists and geneticists surges forward. It is possible given consideration to things such as the morality of these techniques, the unexplored alternative uses of these procedures, and the potential impact they posses that further development is unnecessary and possibly dangerous.
“It 's not easy as “I want to buy and egg,” states, the director of the Donor Egg Bank, Brigid Dowd. “Not everyone realizes what 's involved, and then when they hear the cost, many just pass out.” (CGS: Designing the $100,000 Baby,” par. 13) It is a fact that having certain traits are valuable, so this shows that the mere modification used on the designer baby, the more the cost. “If you are too rigid or become too obsessed with finding the perfect image you have in mind, the choice can become more difficult,” says Dowd. (“CGS: Designing the $100,000 Baby,”par. 16) The practice of human genetic modification will not be fair because only the wealthy will have enough money to spend on designing a baby. Therefore, the wealthy will have much more advantages such as longer, healthier, and successful lives. If only people of high class are able to afford designer babies, it will cause an even greater inequality between the rich and the poor (“The Ethics of Designer Babies”). It will also create a society based on “Social Darwinism”- The survival of the fittest. If creating designer babies will cause more inequalities and Social Darwinism, why should we allow this practice? (“The ethics of Designer Babies”)
According to Linda MacDonald Glenn, J.D., L.L.M., “The introduction of these diseases to the human population could have devastating consequences” (Glenn). Human genetic engineering may also cause the production of unwanted mutations, such as developmental issues. The procedures that would be used for genetically modifying human cells would include numerous alterations to sperm, eggs, stem cells, or embryos before entering a woman’s uterus. This could potentially modify the growth and development of the fetus in ways that have not yet been thoroughly explored (Genetics and Public Policy Center).... ...
An important scientific argument for IVF is that, by studying fertilization and early embryonic development outside the womb, scientists might learn more about how to prevent certain birth defects (1). This proves that IVF could actually make improvements in medical advances, especially in regards to prenatal care. This is just one example of how IVF can actually be beneficial to the community. The only times that babies are malformed or sick are when the mother puts more than one baby in her uterus. Multiple fetuses increase the chance of birth defects because they have a greater chance of preterm birth, which is associated with long-term health. The long-term illnesses are cerebral palsy, mental illness, and blindness (Reddy 1). With this in mind, having single births is very safe and those babies are still healthy today, just like Sarah and Maggie Marshall’s baby. Single births are also very highly recommended by medical personnel. Going back to the first test tube baby the Browns were expecting, and Steptoe (the doctor) thought that this baby would be a failure. When they did a cesarean on July 25, 1978, a beautiful baby girl was born at 5 pounds and 12 ounces. After the baby was born, the doctor recalled that
Abortion “is an issue that raises questions about life and death, about what a person is and when one becomes a person, about the meaning of life, about the rights of women, and about the duties of men”(Velasquez 485). Abortion is an unresolved ethical issue that has been in doubt for many years because one can argue that you are killing an innocent person/fetus but many argue that is not person because they don’t have a conscious or the characteristics that defines a “person”. John Stuart Mill in a way justifies abortion, Mill is known to be openly speak about women’s rights and about human rights. Although, it might be immortal to end someone’s life one might argued that the individual has the right to choose and have the option. But in
In the World, there are a lot of couples who are unfortunate and are unable to be able to give birth to children, making them infertile. There are a lot of different methods of contraceptives that infertile parents can use to have a baby, but the one I will be talking about today is IVF: In-vitro fertilization. There are hundreds of thousands of test tube babies living in the world right now, and is a very known method of having babies. According to the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), in the year 2002, about 2%, which is 1.2 million of the 62 million American Women, had a doctor’s appointment related to infertility, and most of those appointments were for IVF. (Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/babies-today/) The IVF treatment was invented in order to grant infertile couples the happiness of having a child, however, it is when fertilization occurs outside the body. On Average, 1 in 8 American couples experience infertility, and 1.1 million of these peo...
Egg donation, Karyomapping and IVF are very huge issues today but they do cause some good. In the article “First Baby Born From IVF Technique Which Eliminates Inherited Disease” by Sarah Knapton talks about the positive sides of an IVF procedure that checks for genetic disorders in the embryo. This couple was able to have a healthy, normal,