Adapting International Standards and Ethical Principles to New Reproductive Technologies (NRTs) and Scientific Advances
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The advancement of new technology raises ethical issues. Among them, human health, especially birth, is more frequently at the center of the discussions. Indeed, new technologies have the potential to radically alter human nature, such as modifying human reproduction. In recent years, it has been demonstrated that new technology can provide maternity surrogacy, as well as gene editing and the possible development of an artificial uterus. The legislative response to these issues is still fragmented and poorly regulated, inhibited by moral arguments as well as legal systems' inability to adapt to decades-old issues like abortion. A lack of permissiveness on the side of some governments is frequently the source of disadvantages. In the case of maternal surrogacy, for example, there are frequently documented cases of abuse and corruption as a result of legislative differences across jurisdictions. Indeed, the potential of surrogacy in certain nations encourages individuals to travel overseas and use artificial insemination treatments that are not authorized under their domestic laws. On the other hand, women who agree to give their uterus are frequently poor and forced to accept. In this regard, it would be ideal if many states could adapt their laws to scientific advancement. Looking ahead, similar harmful trends might be seen in the development of artificial reproductive systems, which has recently received research funding. As a response, the article proposes to look at how the law should adapt to the latest innovative advancements in terms of new reproductive technologies, examining what is now achievable and what could happen in the near future from an ethical perspective.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Works are licensed under Creative Commons license “Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).”
This license permits readers to share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format under the following terms: Attribution — one must give appropriate credit, and provide a link to the license. Non Commercial — one may not use the material for commercial purposes. NoDerivatives — If one remixes, transforms, or builds upon the material, one may not distribute the modified material.
References
ECHR, Gestational Surrogacy – Judgments and decisions of the Court (April 2022)
<https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/FS_Surrogacy_eng.pdf> [accessed 4 July 2022].
“Infertility” (World Health Organization, September 14, 2020) <https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/infertility> [accessed 4 July 2022].
Andrea Rosa, “Surrogate babies born in Ukraine wait out war in basement”, Apnwes (20 March 2022) <https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-6dce6502a0301638020e313b09cf6137> [accessed 9 July 2022].
Shanna H. Swan and Stacey Colino, “Reproductive Problems In Both Men And Women Are Rising At An Alarming Rate” (2021) Scientific American <https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reproductive-problems-in-both-men-and-women-are-rising-at-an-alarming-rate/> [accessed 14 May 2022].
Marcia Inhorn and Frank van Balen, Infertility Around The Globe: New Thinking On Childlessness, Gender, And Reproductive Technologies (1st ed., University of California Press, 2002);
“Fertility Rate, Total (Births Per Woman)”, (Data.worldbank.org, 2022) <https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN>.
Maureen McNeil, Ian Varcoe and Steven Yearley, The New Reproductive Technologies (Macmillan, 1990);
Gaylene Becker, The Elusive Embryo: How Women and Men Approach New Reproductive Technologies (University of California Press, 2000).
Joseph G Schenker, Ethical Dilemmas in Assisted Reproductive Technologies (De Gruyter, 2011);
Annette Burfoot and Derya Güngör, Women and Reproductive Technologies: The Socio-Economic Development of Technologies Changing The World (1st ed, Routledge, 2021)
Hrafn Ásgeirsson and Salvör Nordal, “Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy: a Global Perspective” (2015) TemaNord <https://doi.org/10.6027/TN2015-561> [accessed 14 May 2022].
Alessandra Di Martino, Pensiero femminista e tecnologie riproduttive (Mimesis, 2020)
Mariangela Barletta, ‘‘Recensione a A. DI MARTINO, Pensiero femminista e tecnologie riproduttive. Autodeterminazione, Salute, Dignità, Milano, Mimesis, 2020, pp. 212 (2020) Nomos – Le attualità nel diritto <https://www.nomos-leattualitaneldiritto.it/nomos/mariangela-barletta-recensione-a-a-di-martino-pensiero-femminista-e-tecnologie-riproduttive-autodeterminazione-salute-dignita-milano-mimesis-2020-pp-212/> [accessed 9 July 2022];
Shulamith Firestone, The Dialectic Of Sex: The Case For Feminist Revolution (Verso, 2015)
‘The United States Surrogacy Law Map’’ (Creative Family Connections, 2022) <https://www.creativefamilyconnections.com/us-surrogacy-law-map/> [accessed 14 May 2022]
‘‘INTENDED PARENTS: International Surrogacy Laws By Country’’ (Surrogate.com/Information About Surrogacy, 2022) <https://surrogate.com/intended-parents/surrogacy-laws-and-legal-information/what-are-the-international-surrogacy-laws-by-country/> [accessed 14 May 2022];
‘‘Surrogacy: Where In The World?” (ORM Fertility, 2022) <https://ormfertility.com/surrogacy/surrogacy-where-in-the-world/> [accessed 9 July 2022].
“What’s Wrong With Surrogacy?” (Center for Bioethics and Culture Network, 2022) <https://cbc-network.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/What-is-Wrong-with-Surrogacy-Center-for-Bioethics-and-Culture.pdf> [accessed 14 May 2022];
Marcia C Inhorn and Pasquale Patrizio, “Procreative Tourism: Debating The Meaning Of Cross-Border Reproductive Care In The 21St Century” (2012) 7 Expert Review of Obstetrics & Gynecology 509-11 <https://doi.org/10.1586/eog.12.56> [accessed 14 May 2022]
Rachel Cook, Shelley Day Sclater, and Felicity Kaganas, Surrogate Motherhood: International Perspectives (Hart Publishing, 2003)
Michal Rachel Nahman, ‘‘Reproductive Tourism: Through The Anthropological ‘Reproscope’” (2016) 45 Annual Review of Anthropology 417-32 <https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anthro-102313-030459> [accessed 14 May 2022].
Italian law no. 76/2016
"Infertility” (World Health Organization, September 14, 2020) <https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/infertility> [accessed 14 May 2022].
International Federation of Fertility Society, “International Federation of Fertility Societies’’ Surveillance (IFFS) 2019: Global Trends in Reproductive Policy and Practice, 8th Edition” (2019) 4 Global Reproductive Health <https://journals.lww.com/grh/Fulltext/2019/03000/International_Federation_of_Fertility_Societies_.3.aspx>[accessed 14 May 2022].
ECHR, Gestational Surrogacy - Judgments and decisions of the Court (April 2022) <https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/FS_Surrogacy_eng.pdf> [accessed 14 May 2022].
Art. 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Mennesson v. France app. n. 65192/11
Lebassee v. France app. n. 65941/11.
Foulon and Bouvet v. France (ECHR, 21 July 2016)
Laborie v. France (ECHR, 19 January 2017)
D. v. France app. no 11288/18 (ECHR,16 July 2020)
Paradiso and Campanelli v. Italy, app. no. 25358/12, (ECHR, 24 January 2017).
Cyra Akila Choudhury, Transnational Commercial Surrogacy: Contracts, Conflicts, and the Prospects of International Legal Regulation (2016) Oxford Handbook Online <10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935352.013.38> [accessed 10 May 2022];
Leslie R. Schover, “Cross-Border Surrogacy: The Case of Baby Gammy Highlights the Need for Global Agreement on Protections for All Parties” (2014) 102 Fertility and Sterility 1258 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2014.08.017> [accessed 14 May 2022].
UN General Assembly, Sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material (A/74/162, 2019).
UN General Assembly, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material (A/HRC/37/60, 2018)
“Surrogacy” (Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, OHCHR) <https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-sale-of-children/surrogacy> [accessed May 14, 2022].
UN General Assembly, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material (A/HRC/37/60, 2018).
Nishat Hyder-Rahman, “Commercial Gestational Surrogacy: Unravelling the Threads between Reproductive Tourism and Child Trafficking” (2021) Anti-Trafficking Review 123-43 <https://doi.org/10.14197/atr.201221168> [accessed 14 May 2022].
UN General Assembly, Resolution 55/25, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (15 November 2000) [accessed 9 July 2022].
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 20 November 1989 (UNCRC): e.g., arts 2, 3, 7, 8 and 9.
“The Parentage / Surrogacy Project” (HCCH) <https://www.hcch.net/en/projects/legislative-projects/parentage-surrogacy> [accessed May 14 2022].
Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption; Hague Conference on Private International Law, A Preliminary Report on the Issues Arising From International Surrogacy Agreements (2012) 58 -63 <https://assets.hcch.net/docs/d4ff8ecd-f747-46da-86c3-61074e9b17fe.pdf> [accessed 14 May 2002].
Susan Dominus, “It’s a Terrible Thing When a Grown Person Does Not Belong to Herself” The New York Times (3 May 2022) <https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/03/magazine/surrogates-ukraine.html> [accessed May 14, 2022];
Goswami Lopamudra et al., “The Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Surrogacy in India: The Role of Social Work” (2021) 20 Qualitative Social Work 472-78 <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8261337/> [accessed May 14, 2022].
Michael Wells-Greco, The Status of Children Arising from Inter-Country Surrogacy Arrangements (The Hague, The Netherlands: Eleven International Publishing, 2015).
"Artificial Womb” (Eindhoven University of Technology) <https://www.tue.nl/en/research/research-groups/cardiovascular-biomechanics/artificial-womb/> [accessed May 12 2022].
Daniela Bandelli et al., Raising Awareness on Gestational Surrogacy Among Vulnerable Women in Developing Countries (2021) <https://c-fam.org/wp-content/uploads/Raising-Awareness-on-Gestational-Surrogacy-3.16.21.pdf>;
Noelia Igareda González, “Legal and Ethical Issues in Cross-Border Gestational Surrogacy” (2020), 113(5) Fertility and Sterility 916-19 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2020.03.003> [accessed 15 May 2022].