Philosophy
When a man impregnates a woman accidentally through the usual means, he takes on responsibilities for the well-being of the child. The argument is that he acted in a way that he knew or should have known that this was a possibility and when it occurs, one has responsibilities for ones offspring. Why then is this not the case for sperm donors? They know that their action in making the donation will likely lead to a child, why do they not have any responsibility for its welfare? Is it that a contractual element exists? Can one really do away with such obligations contractually?
- Symbolic Incest
I want to officially retract a claim I made last week about the moral blandness of questions around IVF. No sooner had I made the claim than a senior thesis writer had us considering what one philosopher calls "symbolic incest." In Britain, cases of IVF...
- Bullshit Or Not: Milton Friedman Edition
In light of yesterday's post, let's play Bullshit or Not. There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, "In Search Of..." called, "Bullshit or Not?" with the tagline...
- Moral Luck And The Division Of Moral Labor
Ethicists think about a notion termed "moral luck." The idea is that histoical accidents often play into what responsibilities we have. Two people are walking past different swimming pools, one has a drowning child and one doesn't. Both people were...
- Bizarre And Quite Unusual
A dead girl's ovarian eggs, a sperm donor, biological father...how can the parent's decision be legitimate? "Israeli family can freeze eggs of daughter killed in road accident" Court ruling sets legal precedent in Israel and is possibly...
- Sperm Ethics
I suppose that some sort of ethical standards should be established but for the most part it is up to the woman. "Should Men Be Allowed to Father Children After They're Dead?" by Bonnie Rochman June 3rd, 2011 Time Fertility-treatment innovations...
Philosophy
Sperm Banks and Moral Responsibility
When a man impregnates a woman accidentally through the usual means, he takes on responsibilities for the well-being of the child. The argument is that he acted in a way that he knew or should have known that this was a possibility and when it occurs, one has responsibilities for ones offspring. Why then is this not the case for sperm donors? They know that their action in making the donation will likely lead to a child, why do they not have any responsibility for its welfare? Is it that a contractual element exists? Can one really do away with such obligations contractually?
- Symbolic Incest
I want to officially retract a claim I made last week about the moral blandness of questions around IVF. No sooner had I made the claim than a senior thesis writer had us considering what one philosopher calls "symbolic incest." In Britain, cases of IVF...
- Bullshit Or Not: Milton Friedman Edition
In light of yesterday's post, let's play Bullshit or Not. There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, "In Search Of..." called, "Bullshit or Not?" with the tagline...
- Moral Luck And The Division Of Moral Labor
Ethicists think about a notion termed "moral luck." The idea is that histoical accidents often play into what responsibilities we have. Two people are walking past different swimming pools, one has a drowning child and one doesn't. Both people were...
- Bizarre And Quite Unusual
A dead girl's ovarian eggs, a sperm donor, biological father...how can the parent's decision be legitimate? "Israeli family can freeze eggs of daughter killed in road accident" Court ruling sets legal precedent in Israel and is possibly...
- Sperm Ethics
I suppose that some sort of ethical standards should be established but for the most part it is up to the woman. "Should Men Be Allowed to Father Children After They're Dead?" by Bonnie Rochman June 3rd, 2011 Time Fertility-treatment innovations...