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NEW REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES

Dr. E. T. Acevedo

References:

1. Ethical Practices in Health & disease – Michael A.

Monge
2. Bioethics & Moral Decisions - Florentino T.
Timbreza
3. INTERVENTION & REFLECTION: Basic Issues in
Medical Ethics - Ronald Munson
4. Medical Ethics - Robert M. Veatch
5. ETHICS of Health Care - B.M. Ashley & k.d. O’Rourke
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BRAVE NEW WORLD

Dystopian Novel by Aldous Huxley, 1932

In the future society depicted by Huxley,

“pregnancy” is a dirty word, sex is purely
recreational, and children are produced
according to explicit genetic standards in the
artificial wombs of state “hatcheries”.
Furthermore, an individual’s genetic
environment determines the social position and
obligations that he or she has within the society.
Of course, everyone is conditioned to believe
that the role he finds himself in is the best one to
have.
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In significant ways, that future society is now.

We have no state hatcheries

No artificial uteruses

What do we have now

Sperm banks surrogate mothers

We have it within our powers to remove an ovum

from a woman’s body, fertilize it, then return it so
that it may develop into a child. By relatively
simple surgical procedures, we can end forever
the reproductive potentialities of otherwise
fertile men or women.
4 POTENTIALITY??

BLEAK VISION

OF A

MECHANISTIC and DEHUMANIZED

FUTURE

Traditional values associated with reproduction and

family life, values based on individual autonomy, are
replaced by values of a purely social kind. In such a
society, it is the good of the society or of the species, not
the good of the individuals, that is the touchstone of
 NEW REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

The “monster’ that is animated by Dr. Frankenstein stands as

a warning and reproach to all who seek to impose their will
on the world through the powers of scientific technology.

WARNING:
It is both wrong and dangerous to
tamper with the natural forces of life.
WRONG: - because it disturbs the natural order
of things;
DANGEROUS: - because it unleashes forces
beyond human control.
The fundamental ethical question about the new human
reproductive technology is whether it ought to be employed
at all.

Is it simply wrong for us to use our knowledge of human

biology to exercise power over the processes of human
reproduction?

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 ETHICAL THEORIES

1. The Natural Law View:

(represented by currently accepted doctrines
of the Roman Catholic church)

2. Utilitarian View:

3. Ross’s Ethical theory:

4. Kantian Principles:

According to the natural Law all the following three

techniques are fundamentally wrong:
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1. Artificial Insemination
2. In vitro Fertilization
3. Sterilization

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 1. Artificial Insemination-

requires male masturbation, which is

prima facie wrong, since it is an act that
can be considered to be unnatural,
given the natural end of sex, even when
semen from the husband is used. AI
tends to destroy the values inherent
in the married state. It makes
conception a mechanical act.

2. In vitro fertilization

- same objections. In addition, the

process itself involves the destruction of
fertilized ova which amounts to the
destruction of human life.

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 3. Sterilization
- whether voluntary or not, is inherently
wrong, for it involves defeating the
natural purpose of the reproductive
organs. Furthermore, according to the
principle of totality, we have a natural
duty to preserve the integrity of our
bodies, which means that any procedure
that involves “mutilation” or the
destruction of the capacity of an organ
to function properly is morally wrong.

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 2. Utilitarian View:

No reproductive technology is in itself

objectionable when the use of any
particular procedure, in general or in a
certain case, is likely to lead to more good
than not.

However, a rule utilitarian might oppose

any or all of the procedures if there is
strong evidence to support the view that the
use of reproductive technology will lead to a
society in which the welfare of its members
will not be served.

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 3. Ross’s Ethical theory:

Based on the prima facie duties of

beneficence, there is an obligation to assist
others in bettering their lives which justifies
the use of reproductive technology as a
means to promote the well-being of others
for as long as there is informed conscience.

4. Kantian Principles:

Not clear. May or may not justify,

depending on the circumstances.

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 NEW REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES

The Moral Status of the Early Human Embryo:

(The embryo within the first 14 days post-fertilization)

Three Principal Viewpoints:

1. Human embryos are entitled to protection as

human beings from the time of fertilization
forward.
Any research or other manipulation, such as
freezing, that damages an embryo or interferes
with its prospects for transfer to a uterus and
subsequent development is ethically
unacceptable.
This view is based on two kinds of factual
evidence:
1) The embryonic genotype is established
at the time of fertilization;
2) Given the proper environment, early
embryos have the potential to become
full-term fetuses, children, and adults.

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2. Early human embryos have no moral status.
Adult human beings have no moral
obligation to early human embryos. – Scientific
evidence shows the fact that only about 30-40% of
embryos produced thru human sexual intercourse
develop to maturity in utero and are delivered as
live infants. It also notes that the biological
individuality of the early embryo is established only
toward the end of the first 14 days of development.
- An undifferentiated entity like the early embryo,
which has no organs, no limbs, and no
senscience, cannot have moral status.

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 3. Mediating Position:
Accords some moral status to the early
embryo, on ground of its genotype and its
potential. These characteristics differentiate the
early embryo from other human tissues or cells.

However, this view acknowledges that

the prima-facie moral obligations to early
human embryos can be outweighed by other
moral duties – duty to develop new and better
methods of providing care to infertile couples.

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 The Role of the Family and Genetic Lineage

New reproductive technologies should be employed

only within the family unit.

Proponents:
If a couple cannot conceive a child by means of
their own sperm and egg cell, even with medical
assistance, they should accept their infertility and
explore other alternatives like the adoption of a child.

Adoption is qualitatively different from the

deliberte and premeditated introduction of “foreign”
gametes or embryos into the family unit because
adopting parents rescue an already-existing child
from a situation of homelessness.

Opposing Viewpoint:
The practice of gamete and embryos donation is
morally justified when employed by a couple for
good reasons:
1. untreatable infertility, or
2. the presence of a genetic abnormality in one or
both partners.
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 NEW REPRODUCTIVE
TECHNOLOGIES:

1. Artificial Insemination
2. In vitro fertilization
3. Sterilization
4. Genetic Testing and Screening