Ethical Issues Related to Reproduction - Essay Example

Ethical Issues Related to Reproduction This paper covers highly controversial ethical issues related to reproduction. In the past, when a woman was unable to have a child, the couple could find another woman for the husband to impregnate in order to have a child, or adopt a baby that was unwanted. However, with recent advancements in technology, infertile couples today have more options, such as assisted reproduction, surrogate parenting, or sperm and egg donation. It has become a reality for many infertile couples to have a child who is their natural descendent. With the creation of new technologies, couples who could not conceive now can but are faced with new ethical dilemmas such as deciding to abort children with birth defects or mental retardation, or sex selection. Introduction Infertility affects approximately 6.1 million women in America and about 10 percent of the population in the reproductive age group (Sharara, 2012). Fortunately, in the 1990’s, new technology arose that gave couples who couldn’t have children the opportunity to have their own child. This seems to be a noble effort by researchers to enable infertile couples to have children. However, with these advancements in technology new ethical questions have arisen. Although this technology has made dreams come true for a lot of infertile couples, it has brought up some important ethical issues. These ethical issues surrounding pregnancy include the exploitation of God’s will because only God can decide if someone can have a child. This interference with nature is a violation of God’s will, because the relationship between God’s will and reproduction is strong. It is God alone who can decide whether a couple can genetically produce a child and humans should not interfere with this decision. In addition, there are many unwanted kids in orphanages who can be adopted by couples who really want children. By adopting orphaned children, infertile couples can change the lives of these children who do not have parents. Infertile couples should adopt children in need rather than spending all their financial resources on producing a child with the aid of technology. There are many unfortunate children who need parents to love them and a family to take care of them. Many people feel that pregnancy should be determined by nature rather than interfering with this natural, God-given process. A lot of issues also surround surrogate parenting, which is now possible with the use of reproduction technology. Surrogate parenting refers to a fertile woman agreeing to conceive another couple’s child through artificial insemination. As most surrogate parents are paid for their service, many people speculate that surrogate mothers are only motivated by money. This means there is a possibility for the exploitation of poor women who are desperate for money and therefore rent out their wombs. The cost of surrogate mother compensation is usually between $18,000-$20,000, and there is often an additional fee of $15,000-$18,000 (Doup, 2003). For some women, becoming a surrogate parent may be an opportunity to make substantial amounts of money relatively easily. However, it may be argued that adult women have a right to make this choice for themselves, even though their choices may be harmful. It is unlikely that someone would be only motivated by concern for an infertile couple without receiving some kind of reward for their sacrifice. This process of surrogate parenting could be seen as the buying and selling of children, in that the woman carrying the child gives it up and the infertile couple adopts the child. This activity could lead to multiple negative consequences because of its commercial motivation. Reproductive assistance technologies have brought up important questions for society about the definition of family. Society generally accepts that a couple made up of one male and one female will biologically reproduce children. Because assisted reproductive technologies involve a third party, who biologically reproduces the desired child, children born to surrogates can be considered to have more than two parents. Such children can have three or four parents, depending on how the surrogacy was arranged, because some assisted reproduction techniques involve sperm that has been donated by an unknown male, an egg from another woman, and the womb of a surrogate mother, although none of these people will be parenting the child who is produced. Therefore, the definition of family has been disturbed by the process of surrogacy. This question is likely to be addressed in the courts in upcoming years as assisted reproductive technologies become more common and more people can afford to use surrogates. Technological developments have now allowed parents to find out whether their child has any disabilities before it is born, which can lead to parents choosing to abort a disabled baby. While ethical issues are faced by couples who are unable to become pregnant naturally, other issues surround parents who can have their own child but must make decisions in the case of premature birth, birth defects, and mental retardation. These ethical dilemmas involve social issues that are prominent in society. Almost half of all pregnancies among American women are unintended, and approximately four in ten of these pregnancies are terminated by abortion (Guttmacher Institute, 2011). Twenty-two percent of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion (Guttmacher Institute, 2011). These statistics show how common the abortion of unborn babies has become in society. In many parts of the world, common opinion in society is that children born with impairments are a burden for their parents who expected to give birth to a healthy baby and are not committed to dealing with a disabled child. With recent advances in medical technology, many women can now undergo screening to check for any potential genetic abnormalities in their baby, at which point they can decide whether to keep the baby or not. Based on the principle of human rights, such selective abortion is morally wrong. Every living thing in this world has a right to survive, regardless of society’s opinion about disabled people. According to Tom Shakespeare, a sociologist at the University of Newcastle in the U.K., “Current law discriminates against the impaired fetus. The law should not discriminate between an impaired and a non-impaired fetus: a common time limit should be adopted for all pregnancies” (The Life Resources Charitable Trust, 2011). Many people see disabled people as a burden to society. If society changes this perception, then babies with disabilities will be recognized as having the right to be born. If the parents decide to give birth to an impaired baby, society can help reduce difficulties for this child by changing public and private places, such as schools, recreational areas, and even workplaces to accommodate disabled people and respect their value as human beings. In addition, society must change its assumptions and attitudes towards disabled people. That way, babies born with impairments will no longer be judged as disabled and subhuman. Healthy babies and those born with impairments will have the same rights and opportunities in life, beginning from birth. Apart from selective abortion because of impairment, another type of selective abortion is based on the gender of the baby and is a common issue in Asia. In most Asian countries where patriarchy is common, a prejudice exists that baby boys are better than girls. This causes a moral issue surrounding the selective abortion of girls, which is estimated to have occurred between 4.2 and 12.1 million times in three decades between 1980 to 2010 (Press Trust of India, 2011). This means that millions of babies have died because of prejudice in society against girls. This could be considered a holocaust of female children caused by prejudice in society. Discrimination against females still happens in the modern world, even though females are now equally protected by law. Still, society sees women and men as having different value, as men are often considered to be better than women. One of the countries in Asia that has a large number of selective abortions is China. The practice of selective abortion based on gender has caused a massive gender imbalance in the Chinese population in particular. Selective sex abortion in favor of males has left China with 32 million more males than females, creating an imbalance that will endure for decades (The Gazette, 2009). Every human being should have the right to be born regardless of disability or gender, because all babies are made by God and should be accepted for who they are. In conclusion, the use of recent technology in the issue of fertility and pregnancy can raise ethical dilemmas and questions, particularly related to the value of human life. The problem with new innovations is that they often have consequences that can’t be foreseen. For this reason, society must be cautious when using new technologies. Although most technological innovations are beneficial, we have to consider their effects from humanitarian and environmental points of view. We also have to take the time to work through a number of moral and ethical dilemmas, and be aware that as technology advances, the number of ethical issues is also likely to increase. References Doup, L. (2003). The new extended family. South Florida Sun - Sentinel, Apr. 06, 2003, pp. 1.E-1E. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/387806184?accountid=28371 Guttmacher Institute. (2011). Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html Press Trust of India. (2011). Selective abortion of girls on rise among rich, educated. The Statesman. May 24, 2011. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/868573590?accountid=28371 Sharara, F. (2012). Virginia center for reproductive medicine. Retrieved from http://www.vcrmed.com/fertility_reston_va/stats_success.html The Gazette. (2009). 32 million more boys in China: Selective abortion creates imbalance. The Gazette, Apr. 10, 2009, pp. A.14. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/434804333?accountid=28371 The Life Resources Charitable Trust. (2011). Down syndrome, dwarfism and pre-natal testing. 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