About meaning and purpose
With IVF firmly established legally and socially, the status of children has become a bit murky. Initially IVF was a remedy for medical infertility for married couples. Then it became a solution for “social infertility” for solo mothers and gay couples. A recent decision by an English Court extends the logic of IVF a bit further. A judge has ruled that a brain-damaged and severely handicapped woman should be allowed to have child to give meaning and purpose to her life. (See article below.)
Where are the rights of the child in this development? To have no father, to be raised by grandparents who may die early, leaving a youngster in charge of a handicapped mother… It seems to violate a fundamental tenet of liberal democracy — that people exist for their own sake, not as means to an end.
Michael Cook
Are babies that important?
1572236100
- How long can you put off seeing the doctor because of lockdowns? - December 3, 2021
- House of Lords debates assisted suicide—again - October 28, 2021
- Spanish government tries to restrict conscientious objection - October 28, 2021
More Stories
China accused of sequencing Tibetan and Uyghur DNA to supply organ transplant market
A committee of the US Congress has heard shocking testimony about alleged forced organ harvesting from Uyghurs and Falun Gong...
European Parliament describes surrogacy as a form of human trafficking
The European Parliament has described “the exploitation of surrogacy” as a form of human trafficking in a legislative resolution on...
‘Forced surrogacy’ reported in the UK
A British charity working with victims of modern slavery has reported that it had received three reports of “forced surrogacy” for the...
We should react to atrocities in Gaza, says bioethicists
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is creating tensions within the bioethics community. In an article in the...
Quadriplegic Quebec man chooses assisted dying rather than live with bedsores
A quadriplegic Quebec man has chosen assisted dying because of a bedsore he acquired when a hospital failed to give...
Transgender medicine critic Hilary Cass given police protection
The author of the recent review of Britain’s gender identity services for children and young people has told The Times (of London)...