Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Sociocultural and technological changes have produced unprecedented conditions under which individuals can make choices about when, how, and whether to reproduce. Reproductive and genetic technologies, ranging from relatively basic techniques such as contraception, abortion, and ultrasound, to more complex practices including in vitro fertilization and pre-implantation embryo screening, seem to allow individuals to exert much more precise control over their procreative decisions and practices, particularly those who are economically advantaged enough to be able to make use of these technologies. However such developments have been accompanied by increased pressures and moral conflicts for individuals who seek to make these decisions, especially with regard to individual responsibilities and reproductive choices. Debates associated with responsibilities and rights to procreate relate to some of our most fundamental values and our basic moral and legal rights, for instance privacy (e.g., access to and use of contraception); freedom of religion (which relates to marriage and decisions about childrearing); and bodily integrity (including decisions about carrying a pregnancy to term or aborting it). In this chapter, moral questions about individual responsibilities and duties to reproduce will be examined. Do we have rights to reproduce? If we do, what sorts of rights are these, ... log in or subscribe to read full text