...With the advances in assisted reproduction technology (ART), such as surrogacy and in vitro fertilization, more people both inside and outside the traditional relationships of a biological mother and father have a chance to have a child. These families consist of single parents and also same sex couples. With same sex relationships, a third party has to be involved, which could be either a surrogate mother or a male donor. Unfortunately, there are still many people in society that are homophobic. Lesbian co-mothers are growing in population. ART has contributed to a significant increase in the number of lesbian and gay individuals choosing to raise children. Most lesbian couples obtain a child from either a past heterosexual relationship or by alternative insemination where the child then has two mothers and a male donor. People within society are concerned about this because it is not a traditional type of family. They feel that a child should have both a male and female figure represented in a family to make an ideal environment. Gay couples also have a hard time involving ART and children. One reason for this is because gay male couples have to go through both artificial insemination and surrogacy laws. The way that this usually works is that a gay male couple will find a woman who is willing to be a surrogate mother. The woman is artificially inseminated with semen from one of the two males and delivers the baby to the couple after the birth. One of the major problems...
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...Modern Assisted Reproductive Techniques Recently, the amount of people who are unable to conceive naturally have begun to increase. Therefore these couples have begun to look for other methods so that they can become parents. A lot of these procedures that can increase the chances of a couple becoming pregnant are subsets of a very common procedure known as in vitro fertilization (IVF). Most alternative treatments that are used as means to conceive are related to IVF or use in vitro fertilization as a part of their own treatments. Over the last century, the ways that people are able to conceive have changed drastically from just naturally conceiving. While there are multiple new methods of conceiving with medical assistance, there are many people who believe that using these unnatural means to get pregnant are morally wrong or that they are unsafe and damaging to everyone involved. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) One of the more common medical procedures that couples undergo in order to have a better chance at conceiving, is In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority states, “IVF… [is] the fertilization of an egg (or eggs) outside [of] the body. Typically those who lean towards IVF treatment have been diagnosed with unexplainable fertility, have a blockage in their fallopian tubes, other methods of conception have not been successful, or if the patient is using preserved sperm or eggs. There are six steps in IVF treatment: the doctor will...
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...The free market is the center of debate of whether it’s fair or not to buy certain goods like babies. Sandel’s “Pregnancy for Pay” talks about a couple, William and Elizabeth Stern. They wanted a baby but couldn’t have one so they worked up a contract with Mary Beth, that said that they would pay her $10,000 dollars to have a surrogate pregnancy using William’s sperm, which makes William, the baby’s father. She would have also had to give up her maternal rights. In the end, Mary formed a maternal bond with the child and refused to give the baby up. The libertarians who support the free market in this case will say that “letting people engage in voluntary exchanges respects their freedoms; laws that interfere with the free market violate individual liberty” (Sandel, page 75) and there shouldn’t be any government interference. Also, the exchange should not violate anyone’s rights. According to this, she should be able to sell whatever she wants and the libertarians would also say that it’s her body and therefore she should be able to do what she wants. She even signed a contract. Contracts are intended to be followed, just like how the first judge said. Like the libertarians, the utilitarian also supports the free market based on their notion that there can be a deal as long as both parties gain happiness and none are hurt. In the pregnancy case, both would have gained something. The Sterns could have had their daughter and Mary Beth her ten thousand dollars but the custody was...
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...genetic mother. (Would you rather be a 'birth' or a 'genetic' mother? if so, how much?, 1994). The bonds a woman establishes with her child while pregnant is one that can never be replaced. If the majority of women would rather bear a child themselves for this particular reason; why is commercial surrogate motherhood on the rise? Some women are beginning to consider commercial surrogate motherhood as a better alternative than adoption. To enforce a contract on something that is so personal to women like labor and childbirth is not only ethically wrong but morally wrong as well. What is surrogacy? Surrogacy is when one woman bears a child for another that for some reason cannot do on their own. There are several types of surrogacy; Altruistic, commercial, genetic and gestatory. Altruistic surrogacy is when the person bearing the child is doing it for a family member or friend. Commercial surrogacy is when the potential parents seek an individual to bear their child and usually involves payment to the surrogate. Both altruistic and commercial surrogate mothers can be genetic or gestatory. Genetic surrogate mothers are genetically tied to fetus they carry (their egg with the potential father’s sperm if...
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...Wednesday, March 26) 1) Provide an informed and critical account of the various arguments surrounding the question of whether alcoholics (or other substance abusers, or individuals whose “lifestyle choices/behaviors” have resulted in organ damage) should compete equally, or not, for scarce human organs. Here you’ll want to draw on at least some of the positions defended by Moss & Seigler (“Should Alcoholics Compete Equally for Organ Transplants?”), or the many opposing positions in the online etc., literature, though you don’t necessarily have to limit yourself to those arguments 2) Comprehensively review the ethical arguments made for, and against, “surrogacy for hire” agreements. What are some of the ways the practice has been defended. What are some of the ethical criticisms of surrogacy (see much available online). Which do you think are the most convincing arguments? In presenting your own position, make an effort to respond to the claims of the opposition. 3) Many of the same ethical questions surrounding surrogate motherhood also appear in recent debates regarding other “reproductive technologies” (unauthorized use of eggs/embryos, research exploitation of desperate potential parents, consent agreements, “custody” fights over egg/sperm, freezing eggs, lack of review board oversight, etc.). Imagine yourself as a member of a national “Bioethics Review Committee” charged with making recommendations regarding these new technologies. Write...
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...PROJECT WORK ON “Surrogacy Motherhood” Under the Keen Supervision of:- Prof. Dr. M. Shabbir (Ambedkar Chair Professor of Law) Incharge & Chairman Department of Law, A.M.U. Aligarh Submitted by:- Faisal Ashfaq LL.M. (P) 13-LLM-20 GB1586 Synopsis * Introductory Remarks * Surrogacy and its Types * Necessity for Surrogacy * Hague Conference on Private International Law, March 2011 * National Guidelines for Accreditation, Supervision and Regulation of ART Clinics in India * The Assistive Reproductive Technology Regulation (Draft) Bill, 2010 * Socio Legal Issues * The Present Indian Scenario * International Perspective on Surrogacy * Conclusion * Bibliography Introductory Remarks The very word surrogate means “substitute”. That means a surrogate mother is the substitute for the genetic-biological mother. In common language, a surrogate mother is the person who is hired to bear a child, which she hands over to her employer at birth. According to the Artificial Reproductive Technique (ART) Guidelines:- Surrogacy is an “arrangement in which a woman agrees to a pregnancy, achieved through assisted reproductive technology, in which neither of the gametes belong to her...
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...achieve pregnancy. According to the CDC, the use of these methods has doubled in the last ten years. There has also been an increase in the number of successes based on the most recently collected data as at 2012. The current percentage of people born through ART (assisted reproductive technology) living in the United States is at 1% which, quite frankly, is a lot of people (Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), 2014). In the case of surrogate parenting, an agreement is reached typically between an infertile couple and a woman who is to carry a baby for this couple. There are two main types which are gestational surrogacy and traditional surrogacy. In gestational surrogacy, conception takes place by means of IVF (in vitro fertilization) which would mean that the surrogate mother will have no genetic relationship with the resultant child. In traditional surrogacy, conception will take place either naturally or artificially which would mean that there will be a genetic relationship between the surrogate mother and the pregnancy. Sperm and egg donation as the name implies is a practice in which sperm and eggs or embryos have been donated by a third party to enable the infertile individual or couple to conceive. The donors are usually screened before they can donate and are usually compensated for the donation. All these are various types of fertility treatment and have become more commonly used around the world, but they still raise some ethical concerns which will be discussed...
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...Lesson Eight Paper Assignment – Family The most interesting article I read from this section was “Coming to the U.S. for Baby, and Womb to Carry it” by Tamar Lewin. I really loved this article, because there are so many things to talk about with surrogacy, good and bad. There is also a lot to talk about pertaining to the cost, health, and legal aspects that have to do with it all. Before reading this article I was totally supportive of surrogate pregnancies, and I still am, but they raised a lot of good points against it as well. The biggest part of the article for me is giving anyone who is straight, gay, infertile, or in between the right to have a child. I fully support all of it, I think everyone should have the opportunity to start a...
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...Originally, I was completely against surrogacy. Much like the conservative Christians, I had viewed the practice as an ungodly way of manipulating the gift of life. The thought of someone allowing another woman to bare her child for her was just unfathomable to me; I feared that the precious bond between a mother and child would be lost. My perspective on surrogacy began to change as I got older. All I could think about was how devastated I would be, how terrified I am, to have a doctor tell me that I would never hear the words, “Congratulations, you’re pregnant!” If I couldn’t have them myself, I would want to explore the possibility of finding a surrogate to carry my children for me. I realized that surrogate births wouldn't change that parent to child bond at all. The only way that a parent to child bond could be changed is if people make the way that 3the child was born seem illegitimate, when really, it’s a miracle made at the hands of...
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...Intro to Sociology Article Assignment 2 This article is nearly impossible to read without looking at things through the sociological perspective. Social patterns are changing rapidly and in this article, it is technology that is the main driving factor. A New York based company named “Genepeeks” will begin offering DNA screening for sperm donors before inducing a pregnancy. The screening would match the DNA of the potential father and mother together to see how the two combine. With the results of the screening, scientists can then look for DNA matches with a higher risk of rare recessive paediatric conditions. This new process goes a step further than current services that are already provided. Current services simply screen one or both parents’ genes to see if they would be considered a carrier for disease when combined with similar variants. Genepeeks advances this technology by computer simulating 10,000 hypothetical children and looking for actual disease rather than just carrier status. Anne Morris is a co-founder of Genepeeks. Anne was motivated to find this company because she gave birth to a child via sperm donation and her child inherited a disorder called MCAAD. Her child is still able is able to lead a normal life but she realizes that about 30% of children with rare genetic diseases don’t make it past age 5. Questions of ethics began to arise right away but she assured that the screening was simply for genetic diseases and not for outward appearance of the...
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...referred to an arrangement in which a woman becomes pregnant for the sole purpose of having a child that another couple will raise. This discovery causes to wake up each and everyone's mind. It also gave birth to the undying rivalry between pros and cons. Surrogacy is entitled with issues and controversies. It also left questions to our mind. Who really suffered and benefited with this? Other debates include moral and ethical questions. Does surrogacy go against natural selection, and is the burden it will cause to the children, the parents, and the surrogate mother, worth it? Some people believe that if an individual does not have the ability of reproduction, it should be selected, and technology should not be used to alter God’s plan. Surrogacy provides some couples with their only hope of raising a child genetically related to at least one of them. They believe that everyone should be given the chance to have a family, and if the surrogate mothers are willing to do it, they do not see a problem with it. II.BODY History of surrogacy can be traced back in the time of Holy Bible and Roman history, where the culture regarded positively about carrying a baby for an infertile couple. The bible book of Genesis, a story of surrogacy was recorded in chapter 16. About the story of Sarah and Abraham, a nomadic Hebrew couple unable...
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...It was very different a decade ago when Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow first made the headlines after they fought – and won – a battle to bring their twins, conceived via donor eggs and carried to term by a surrogate mother, home to Britain after they were born in America. When Eamonn Holmes interviewed them in 2000 after bringing Saffron and Aspen back to the UK, he told them: "There are people who are going to say it's not natural. [They] will say you've been shopping for the ultimate gay accessory." Today, things have moved on in the Drewitt-Barlow household. Tony, now 45, and Barrie, 41, arrive at our meeting with not only the twins, now 10, but their three siblings as well – Orlando, six, and twins Jasper and Dallas, five months – all conceived, like their elder brother and sister, with donor eggs and surrogate mothers. There is a lot more acceptance of the couple and their family now than there was a decade ago, says Barrie, who turns out to be the chattier of the two. "Ten years ago everyone thought we were a pair of paedophiles. Gay men wanting to be parents! What else could we be? We had to be paedophiles. "We've spent the last 10 years trying to persuade people that's not the case. We've spent 10 years getting people to understand we're just another family." On the other hand, the men recently removed their children from school after what they describe as a "campaign" against their family. "We were bullied. The children weren't bullied, but Tony and I were – by...
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...Look into Ethics and Laws Regarding Surrogacy HCA 322: Health Care Ethics and Medical Law A Deeper Look into Ethics and Laws Regarding Surrogacy When one or more persons contract with a woman to gestate a child than relinquish that child after birth to the person or couple is known as surrogacy. It is a course of action that goes outside of natural reproduction. For some, it is the only method of having children, extending family. Surrogacy has been stirring up many controversies over the years. Ethics, morals, laws, religious views, etc. have played a major role in the issues that follow the topic of surrogacy. Laws and regulations pertaining to surrogacy vary from state to state. Some states have no enforceable laws towards surrogacy, while others only permit surrogacy contracts that are uncompensated arrangements and gestational agreements (Trimarchi, 2011). Some states prohibit same sex couples from entering into any form of surrogacy contracts. In this paper, I will be address the legal and ethical issues involved and other aspects of surrogacy. History of Surrogacy and Case Study Surrogacy was assumed to have been around since the Babylonian times. Alternatively, the most credible records to date allocate managing legal passivity and the public responses during the middle of the 20th century. Surrogacy did not become public in 1976, when Attorney Noel Keane negotiated the first ever surrogacy agreement ("History of surrogacy," 2011). Attorney Noel Keane and Dr...
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...focus on each other and on our happiness. Unfortunately, some people are deprived from this blessing. They cannot have a family due to medical reasons. Such medical reason is a woman having a hostile uterus therefore proper implantation of the zygote cannot occur and thus no pregnancy can occur either. Repeated attempts to get pregnant will lead to the same result, the mother will suffer from recurrent abortion or premature labor. Another reason is if the intended mother suffers from severe heart problems, kidney or respiratory diseases, unstable diabetes, or severe high blood pressure the pregnancy will endanger her life. Those who do not support gestational surrogacy justify their positing by citing that there were cases where the surrogacy turned out to be a failure. In fact surrogacy has indeed created troubles for some couples and their surrogate. The first issue to rise is choosing the surrogate mother. Agencies are used to help the couple choose their candidate, but for a fee of course. This fee is very expensive. It costs them thousands of dollars to cover all the medical requirements. In case the...
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...Gestational Surrogacy: A Discussion My feelings regarding gestational surrogacy are limited only by my lack of knowledge on this subject. Moreover, I have no doubt this topic has passionate and appropriate arguments on both sides. Personally, family to me has included my nuclear family (husband and children) and extended family (parents, siblings, nieces, etc…). Once individuals choose to include third party participants in the formation or growth of their nuclear family; a whole host of challenges will be presented. In 2012, New Jersey utilized the Bioethics Commission to analyze this issue. A passage by Chief Justice Wilentz captured a sentiment shared by many. He stated, “There are, in a civilized society, some things that money cannot buy. In America, we decided long ago that merely because conduct purchased by money was “voluntary” did not mean that it was good or beyond regulation and prohibition. . . There are, in short, values that society deems more important than granting to wealth whatever it can buy, be it labor, love, or life” (Cassidy.H. 2012, para. 14). Utilizing gestational surrogacy as a viable option to parenthood is a very private and emotionally charged action and can lead to an equally charged reaction (good, bad or indifferent). My analysis of this topic raises deeper issues for me and in no way do I judge either side of this debate. Parenthood is challenging enough without including legalities as a birthday present for this little life. It...
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