Philosophy
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 must pass an ethics board. There have been cases in which a single woman with certain types of fertility issues wants to become pregnant through in vitro means and wants the child to be genetically related to her. So, she enlists a brother to provide the sperm while an unrelated donor provides the egg. The zygote would then be implanted and she would give birth. Apparently, in deciding whether to approve the procedure, the board considers the role of the sperm donor in the child's life -- but not in the way you'd expect. If the sperm donor wants to be involved in the child's life as a father, the procedure is not allowed. But if the sperm donor wants merely to be an uncle figure, then it is fine. To have a brother and sister act as mother and father is tantamount to incest, they argue, "symbolic incest" one philosopher labeled it, even if there is no intercourse and even if the implantation would be acceptable under other circumstances. Granted, the arrangement is odd, but is it problematic?
- The Ethics Of Incest
We had a senior thesis writer this semester look at the ethical limiting case of incest. So, it seemed a bit odd when this story broke only a week after her thesis defense: A Columbia University professor has been arrested on charges of having sexual...
- 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,...
- Pity Party
Time for a pity party. Whom do you feel sorry for? I feel sorry for the line workers at Kellogg's. Here we are in a recession, their jobs hanging by a thread, and their management goes and drops Michael Phelps as a spokesperson because he smoked pot....
- 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
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 must pass an ethics board. There have been cases in which a single woman with certain types of fertility issues wants to become pregnant through in vitro means and wants the child to be genetically related to her. So, she enlists a brother to provide the sperm while an unrelated donor provides the egg. The zygote would then be implanted and she would give birth. Apparently, in deciding whether to approve the procedure, the board considers the role of the sperm donor in the child's life -- but not in the way you'd expect. If the sperm donor wants to be involved in the child's life as a father, the procedure is not allowed. But if the sperm donor wants merely to be an uncle figure, then it is fine. To have a brother and sister act as mother and father is tantamount to incest, they argue, "symbolic incest" one philosopher labeled it, even if there is no intercourse and even if the implantation would be acceptable under other circumstances. Granted, the arrangement is odd, but is it problematic?
- The Ethics Of Incest
We had a senior thesis writer this semester look at the ethical limiting case of incest. So, it seemed a bit odd when this story broke only a week after her thesis defense: A Columbia University professor has been arrested on charges of having sexual...
- 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,...
- Pity Party
Time for a pity party. Whom do you feel sorry for? I feel sorry for the line workers at Kellogg's. Here we are in a recession, their jobs hanging by a thread, and their management goes and drops Michael Phelps as a spokesperson because he smoked pot....
- 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...