The Human embryo : Mapping patients’ ethical decisions in Hungary (original) (raw)
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Societies, 2020
The burden of deciding the fate of the supernumerary human embryo created in vitro in the context of Assisted Reproductive Technologies rests on the beneficiary couples or individuals who conceived the parental project. The beneficiaries must also take on the responsibility of choosing whether to donate surplus embryos either to others or to scientific research, or to request their destruction. Vulnerable beings, weakened from the point of view of their identity (facing the social stigma still associated with some circumstances such as being infertile, lesbian or a single mother), are required to have skills such as reflexivity and autonomy in dramatic situations that concern their relationship with their own reproductive body. Given the urgency of this issue at the socio-anthropological level, we are conducting ethnographic research aimed at analysing how specialists and lay people objectivate, evaluate and circulate different conceptions of the human embryo in vitro. Based on our research experience within this ongoing project, we intend to discuss some ethical, practical and methodological concerns for the researcher in accessing the field and conducting fieldwork. We take into account the fact that this research is focused on sensitive topics and on individuals who can be considered people in vulnerable situations.
How Pragmatic is Bioethics? The case of In Vitro Fertilization
Maartje Schermer and Jozef Keulartz take the case of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to explore the consequences and effects a new technique can have on society and the way traditional bioethics deals with technological developments. They analyze the shifts in moral responsibilities and social roles and relationships that IVF has caused and give an overview of the debate on IVF as it has taken place in the field of bioethics. Though this debate does already show some pragmatist traits, Schermer and Keulartz propose a more explicitly pragmatist approach and demonstrate what this would imply for the debate on IVF. Schermer and Keulartz focus on the novel character of IVF and show the emergence of a new entity (“the embryo”), of a new medical practice (productive in stead of curative) and of new (family) relationships. The embryo as a new subject, resulting from the separation of the embryo from the body of its mother, has been discussed at length in bioethics. This was not the case, however, with respect to the shift from curative to productive medicine nor with respect to the emergence of new family relationships.
Intersections
In recent years, the issue of reproduction has been increasingly thematized in Hungarian political discourse. This has not only occurred at the discursive level, but the government has also introduced new policies regarding reproduction and family life, thus new regulations have been introduced concerning the medical practice of IVF and other ART which have affected practices associated with infertility. The article aims to discuss the ways that policies and discourses shape the views of women struggling with infertility. The medical and political discourse seems to emphasize the responsibility of women in relation to fertility-related issues, despite the fact that the problem also affects men. Furthermore, with the increased surveillance of women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment, the importance of the latter’s self-reflexivity, discipline, and responsibility is emphasized. To discuss these issues, the article uses a multi-method approach. The primary data source is in-dep...
Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics, 2014
The social forms of human reproduction underwent radical change in the latter half of the 20th century, with the development of in vitro fertilization for the treatment of infertility. The dissociation of sex and reproduction led to a transformation of gender and kinship relations, while embryo and fetus diagnostics led to a shift from planning families to planning a child. Of all those involved, women were most deeply affected, since their bodies are necessary to mediate the technologies. But while advanced repro-genetic technologies have proliferated rapidly and brought benefit to many individuals, globally there are many women who lack access to basic reproductive health services for both fertility and infertility. Moreover, inter-country settings of third-party reproductive collaborations (sperm and egg cell donations, and surrogate mother arrangements) have emerged under market conditions that are ripe for exploitation. In addition, the existence of fertilized eggs outside the womb is a new form of human life which can be preserved and manipulated and the embryo in the petri dish has become the object of a market eugenics, driven by consumers and their claim to a right to reproductive freedom. All these developments challenge deep-set moral perceptions of human dignity and the relation of human beings to their own nature. The conclusion is that the prospect of a post-human future calls for an ethic of care and responsibility.
Infertility is an important topic to bring forth, since it elicits multiple themes and cultural values having to do with the path take, with gender roles and definitions of femininity and masculinity, as well as moral and legal issues. 'IVF is a shifting cultural artifact, as imbricated as any other in contemporary discourses and the struggles they articulate.' [1] Reproduction is turning into a zone where gender, sexuality, economic development, public and private family life and public policies, biotechnology and the ethical dilemmas it causes, interact in a very delicate and specific way. For a long time in most public discussions about the ethical issues of IVF, only the status of the embryo seems to have accounted. Most opponents of ART (Assisted Reproductive Technologies) and embryonic stem cell technologies base their arguments on the twin assertions that the embryo is either a human being or a potential human being, and that it is wrong to destroy a human being or po...
BMC Medical Ethics, 2012
Background: Previous studies have found that the decision-making process for stored unused frozen embryos involves much emotional burden influenced by socio-cultural factors. This study aims to ascertain how Japanese patients make a decision on the fate of their frozen embryos: whether to continue storage discard or donate to research. Methods: Ten Japanese women who continued storage, 5 who discarded and 16 who donated to research were recruited from our infertility clinic. Tape-recorded interviews were transcribed and analyzed for emergent themes. Results: A model of patients' decision-making processes for the fate of frozen embryos was developed, with a common emergent theme, "coming to terms with infertility" resulting in either acceptance or postponing acceptance of their infertility. The model consisted of 5 steps: 1) the embryo-transfer moratorium was sustained, 2) the "Mottainai"embryo and having another child were considered; 3) cost reasonability was taken into account; 4) partner's opinion was confirmed to finally decide whether to continue or discontinue storage. Those discontinuing, then contemplated 5): the effect of donation. Great emotional conflict was expressed in the theme, steps 2, 4, and 5. Conclusions: Patients' 5 step decision-making process for the fate of frozen embryos was profoundly affected by various Japanese cultural values and moral standards. At the end of their decision, patients used culturally inherent values and standards to come to terms with their infertility. While there is much philosophical discussion on the moral status of the embryo worldwide, this study, with actual views of patients who own them, will make a significant contribution to empirical ethics from the practical viewpoint.
Human Affairs, 2015
The paper presents a comparative analysis of the evolution of the legislative process concerning ART (especially PGD) in the specific cultural, societal and political contexts of two countries-Slovakia and Germany. Our analysis is based on 1. mapping the variety of discourses on ART in order to gain an understanding of the perspectives of the main actors and their arguments; and on 2. exploring the reasons for the differences in the current regulation of ART among European Union member states. In both Slovakia and Germany we found there was a deficit of democratic legitimacy, because the arguments and experiences of those primarily affected by the restrictive measures on the use of ART in medical care-infertile women and men-are not taken into consideration with any seriousness. On the contrary, government and legislators pay too much attention to the ethical opinions of the Catholic Church. Government intervention in Germany is highly problematic because there is no sufficient justification of the reasons behind restrictions on parental autonomy and the procreative freedom of women and men. Moreover, the restrictions are not consistent across an array of similar cases and are not applied equally to all (they differ depending on whether the embryo is in vivo or in vitro and healthy or unhealthy). Instead of an interventionist approach which protects the embryo against its own potential mother, it would be more sensible to adopt the "women-centered" approach already suggested by several authors (see for instance Freedman & Isaacs, 1993, Himmel & Michelmann, 2007). It holds that both the mother and embryo have to be at the centre of bioethical and legal considerations, instead of there being an exclusive reliance on ethical principles and expert opinions with regard to the embryo alone.
Ethical challenges of embryo donation in embryo donors and recipients
Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 2018
Background: Embryo donation, as one of the novel assisted reproductive technologies (ART), has remained a controversial issue. This is due to this methods' need for individuals from outside the family circle. Their presence can cause many ethical issues and complicate the designing and planning of the embryo donation process. The present study was conducted with the aim to assess the ethical challenges of embryo donation from the view point of embryo donors and recipients. Material and Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on 192 couples (96 embryo donators and 96 embryo recipients) referring to Isfahan Fertility and Infertility Center and Royan Institute, Iran. The subjects were selected through convenience sampling. The data collection tool was the researcher-made Ethical Challenges Questionnaire. Data were analyzed in SPSS software. Results: Embryo donors and recipients expresses the most important ethical challenges of embryo donation in the principle of justice (70.20%) and respect for autonomy (42.57%), respectively. Conclusions: The four ethical principles are important in the view of embryo donors and recipients; however, they highlighted the importance of the principle of respect for autonomy considering the existing barriers in the services of infertility centers. Legislators and relevant authorities must take measures toward the development of guidelines for this treatment method in the framework of ethics principles and incorporate all four principles independently.
Legal, medical and lay understanding of embryos in Portugal: Alignment with biology?
2009
Our aim is to contribute towards the debate about the processes through which knowledge and meanings regarding the status of human embryos circulate among experts and laymen in Portugal. Expectations and concerns expressed regarding the reliability, quality, safety and efficacy of medical technologies for assisted reproduction were assessed. This study is based on data from individual interviews that sought to explore the complexities, similarities and differences among the views and values of jurists, doctors and couples involved in in vitro fertilization treatments. It consists of a qualitative analysis on a case study. If jurists and doctors frame the status of embryos as categories of a biological, technical and/or legal nature, couples establish between themselves a variety of ontological relationships of a moral, affective and social nature. Through these, they can be represented as ethical beings, thus contrasting with the medical-legal biologization of the embryos.
Ethical Implications of in Virtro Fertilization (Ivf) and Human Cloning Through the Lens Leon Kass
Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development, 2021
Scientists have enveloped the whole humanity with their unprincipled practices and experimentations. Now, a child can be born through a non-natural means of production like cloning, in-vitro fertilization, insemination, surrogating and the likes. However, for Leon Kass, cloning and in vitro fertilization create an immoral experimentation upon the would-be child; generates misperceptions of personality and uniqueness. It further makes the original idea of "to beget" into manufacturing; and then give parents the sole control of the kind of genes they want. To this effect, this research examines the ethical implications of human cloning and in-vitro fertilization through the lens of Leon Kass. The research concludes that in vitro fertilization and human cloning are ethically unacceptable because they do not respect the dignity of the human person, but involve mutilation, mistreatment and animalization of the human nucleuses. They do not respect the moral or legal right of the human embryos. De jure, de facto, regardless of one's views on abortion or personhood of the human embryo, human embryos are unequivocally human beings and therefore should not be subjected to any kind of disparaging experimentation.