Journal of Medical Ethics 40 (11):752-758 (2014)
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Abstract |
Recent breakthroughs in stem cell differentiation and reprogramming suggest that functional human gametes could soon be created in vitro. While the ethical debate on the uses of in vitro generated gametes (IVG) was originally constrained by the fact that they could be derived only from embryonic stem cell lines, the advent of somatic cell reprogramming, with the possibility to easily derive human induced pluripotent stem cells from any individual, affords now a major leap in the feasibility of IVG derivation and in the scope of their potential applications. In this paper we develop an ethical framework, rooted in recent scientific evidence, to support a robust experimental pipeline that could enable the first-in-human use of IVG. We then apply this framework to the following objectives: (1) a clarification of the genetic parenting options afforded by IVG, along with their ethical underpinnings; (2) a defence of the use of IVG to remedy infertility, broadening their scope to same-sex couples; (3) an assessment of the most far-reaching implications of IVG for multiplex parenting. These include, first, the liberation of parenting roles from the constraints of biological generations in vivo, allowing multiple individuals to engage in genetic parenting together, thus blurring the distinction between biological and social generations. Second, we discuss the conflation of IVG with sequencing technology and its implications for the possibility that prospective parents may choose among a hitherto unprecedented number of potential children. In view of these perspectives, we argue that, contrary to the exhausted paradigm according to which society lags behind science, IVG may represent instead a salient and most visible instance where biotechnological ingenuity could be used in pursuit of social experimentation
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Keywords | artificial gametes synthetic gametes stem-cell derived gametes multiplex parenting in vitro generated gametes, same sex reproduction |
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DOI | 10.1136/medethics-2013-101810 |
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References found in this work BETA
Reasons and Persons.Joseph Margolis - 1986 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 47 (2):311-327.
Enhancing Evolution: The Ethical Case for Making Better People.John Harris - 2007 - Princeton University Press.
Procreative Beneficence and in Vitro Gametogenesis.Hannah Bourne, Thomas Douglas & Julian Savulescu - 2012 - Monash Bioethics Review 30 (2):29-48.
View all 10 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Gestation, Equality and Freedom: Ectogenesis as a Political Perspective.Giulia Cavaliere - 2020 - Journal of Medical Ethics 46 (2):76-82.
Germline Modification and the Burden of Human Existence.John Harris - 2016 - Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 25 (1):6-18.
Lesbian Motherhood and Mitochondrial Replacement Techniques: Reproductive Freedom and Genetic Kinship.Giulia Cavaliere & César Palacios-González - 2018 - Journal of Medical Ethics 44 (12):835-842.
Resource Allocation, Treatment, Disclosure, and Mitochondrial Replacement Techniques: Some Comments on de Melo-Martin and Harris.César Palacios-gonzález - 2017 - Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 26 (2):278-287.
The (Re) Production of the Genetically Related Body in Law, Technology and Culture: Mitochondria Replacement Therapy.Danielle Griffiths - 2016 - Health Care Analysis 24 (3):196-209.
View all 12 citations / Add more citations
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