The new reproductive technologies (NRTs) have given rise to new ethical questions that are widely debated. This book, the outcome of a European Union-wide collaborative process, draws on the experience and expertise of ethicists, lawyers, and clinical practitioners and focuses on some of the "burning issues" in different European countries. These include: donor insemination; surrogacy; preimplantation genetic diagnosis; embryo research; access to IVF treatment; and parental, professional and social responsibility. Familiar notions such as quality of life, parenthood, mothering, responsibility and personal identity surface at many points throughout the book and are refashioned to accommodate new questions. This book introduces and probes ethical questions and challenges in a hands-on way by working through relevant case studies with key commentaries and activities. It engages the reader directly in ethical reasoning and decision-making and provides clear explanations, insightful commentaries and informed debate on NRTs.

By all indicators, the reproductive health of Americans has been deteriorating since 1980. Our nation is troubled by rates of teen pregnancies and newborn deaths that are worse than almost all others in the Western world. Science and Babies is a straightforward presentation of the major reproductive issues we face that suggests answers for the public. The book discusses how the clash of opinions on sex and family planning prevents us from making a national commitment to reproductive health; why people in the United States have fewer contraceptive choices than those in many other countries; what we need to do to improve social and medical services for teens and people living in poverty; how couples should "shop" for a fertility service and make consumer-wise decisions; and what we can expect in the futureâ€"featuring interesting accounts of potential scientific advances.

Clinical Ethics at the Crossroads of Genetic and Reproductive Technologies offers thorough discussions on preconception carrier screening, genetic engineering and the use of CRISPR gene editing, mitochondrial gene replacement therapy, sex selection, predictive testing, secondary findings, embryo reduction and the moral status of the embryo, genetic enhancement, and the sharing of genetic data. Chapter contributions from leading bioethicists and clinicians encourage a global, holistic perspective on applied challenges and the moral questions relating the implementation of genetic reproductive technology. The book is an ideal resource for practitioners, regulators, lawmakers, clinical researchers, genetic counselors and graduate and medical students. As the Human Genome Project has triggered a technological revolution that has influenced nearly every field of medicine, including reproductive medicine, obstetrics, gynecology, andrology, prenatal genetic testing, and gene therapy, this book presents a timely resource. Provides practical analysis of the ethical issues raised by cutting-edge techniques and recent advances in prenatal and reproductive genetics Contains contributions from leading bioethicists and clinicians who offer a global, holistic perspective on applied challenges and moral questions relating to genetic and genomic reproductive technology Discusses preconception carrier screening, genetic engineering and the use of CRISPR gene editing, mitochondrial gene replacement therapy, ethical issues, and more

Cloning, genetic screening, embryo freezing, in vitro fertilization, Norplant, RU486--these are the technologies revolutionizing our reproductive landscape. Through the lens of procreative liberty--meaning both the freedom to decide whether or not to have children as well as the freedom to control one's reproductive capacity--John Robertson, a leading legal bioethicist, analyzes the ethical, legal, and social controversies surrounding each major technology and opens up a multitude of fascinating questions: Do frozen embryos have the right to be born? Should parents be allowed to select offspring traits? May a government force welfare recipients to take contraceptives? Robertson's arguments examine the broad range of consequences of each reproductive technology and offers a timely, multifaceted analysis of the competing interests at stake for patients, couples, doctors, policymakers, lawyers, and ethicists.

Arthur L. Caplan It is commonly said, especially when the subject is assisted reproduction, that medical technology has out stripped our morality. Yet, as the essays in this volume make clear, that is not an accurate assessment of the situ ation. Medical technology has not overwhelmed our moral ity. It would be more accurate to say that our society has not yet achieved consensus about the complex ethical iss ues that arise when medicine tries to assist those who seek its services in order to reproduce. Nevertheless, there is no shortage of ethical opinion about what we ought to do with respect to the use of surrogate mothers, in vitro fertil ization, embryo transfer, artificial insemination, or fertil ity drugs. Nor is it entirely accurate to describe assisted repro duction as technology. The term "technology" carries with it connotations of machines buzzing and technicians scurrying about trying to control a vast array of equip ment. Yet, most of the methods used to assist reproduc tion that are discussed in this volume do not involve exotic technologies or complicated hardware. It is technique, more than technology, that dominates the field of assisted reproduction. Efforts to help the infertile by means of the manipu lation of human reproductive materials and organs date 1 2 Caplan back at least to Biblical times. Human beings have en gaged in all manner of sexual practices and manipulations in attempts to achieve reproduction when nature has balked at allowing life to begin.

In the last few decades, as new reproductive technologies have been developed, couples desiring children have increasingly turned to various medical interventions when natural conception has been unsuccessful. These new technologies have raised ethical concerns from various quarters, including medical ethics committees, the American Fertility Society, and the Roman Catholic Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In this informative overview of the ethical implications of reproductive technologies, philosopher Richard T. Hull offers a cross-section of the thinking of individuals specializing in the ethical and legal problems involved in this new area of medicine. The contributors reflect interests as varied as those of the enthusiastic proponent of the new reproductive technologies, the feminist opposing the exploitation of women, the social critic worrying about erosion of the responsibilities of parenting, and the traditionalist concerned with the transformation of the fundamental moral fabric and social character of the family. Many of the chapters include cases for further discussion and reflection. Also included are three speculative scenarios: selections from Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, and Gena Corea's report of the drive to develop an artificial womb. New to this edition are a glossary, which provides succinct definitions of highly technical terms and Web sites for further information, and a thorough index. This excellent collection of expert articles will stimulate appreciation of the complex and mutitiered character of moral decision-making as it is experienced by patients, medical professionals, and legislators and jurists charged with preserving, protecting, and applying justly the principles of society.

This timely anthology helps students examine the normative and conceptual issues raised by recent innovations in human reproduction, including in vitro fertilization, embryo transfer, and surrogate motherhood. Broad-based and interdisciplinary, it gathers together essays of remarkable depth and philosophical sophistication by legal scholars, health care professionals, scientists, and theologians as well as philosophers, paying particular attention to women's perspectives and to issues that concern women. Organized around issues rather than techniques and featuring unusually clear introductions to current ethical and legal debates, the text sets the conceptual framework for addressing issues of prudence, morality, and public policy while providing the broadest possible context for the readings and teasing out the connections among them. Designed for a wide range of courses and for students at many levels, the anthology provides both a firm grounding in the basics--the biology of human reproduction, the specific procedures involved in various reproductive techniques, and the psychology of infertility--and a broad range of readings that provide the depth for more advanced thinking. Other unique features are a section on professional responsibilities that will appeal to more scientifically oriented students, a detailed study of the Baby M case that raises profound questions about the legal treatment of reproduction, and an annotated reading list that guides students past today's welter of popular ephemera to many important but lesser-known sources.