Autonomy in Reproductive Medicine

New Hastings Center Report reviews the ethical issues posed reproductive technology

Just Reproduction coverA new Hastings Center special report, Just Reproduction: Reimagining Autonomy in Reproductive Medicine, considers these and related questions. It is a supplement to the Hastings Center Report, November-December 2017.

The report originated from presentations given at the 2017 annual bioethics conference entitled "The Ethics of 'Making Babies." Editors of the report are Louse P. King, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and the director of reproductive bioethics at its Center for Bioethics; Rachel L. Zacharias, project manager and research assistant at The Hastings Center; and Josephine Johnston, The Hastings Center's director of research.

The Ethics of “Making Babies” conference was organized by a committee and chaired by Louise King, director of reproductive ethics at the Center for Bioethics. The event focused on the ethical issues raised in the use of reproductive technologies. The purpose of the conference was to address the ethical issues and legal implications raised by the use of assisted reproductive technologies, currently an area with little regulatory oversight in the United States. The Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics’ Annual Bioethics Conference convened experts from education, medicine, law and other key stakeholders to frame and discuss the ethical implications of both current and developing reproductive technologies.

Read the Just Reproduction report. See the list of contents below.

Autonomy in Tension: Reproduction, Technology, and Justice
Louise P. King, Rachel L. Zacharias and Josephine Johnston

Essays

Reproductive Autonomy: Rights and Access for All
The Future of Reproductive Autonomy 
Josephine Johnston and Rachel L. Zacharias

Reproductive Rights without Resources or Recourse 
Kimberly Mutcherson

How the Criminalization of Pregnancy Robs Women of Reproductive Autonomy 
Michele Goodwin

Case Studies: Reproductive Autonomy in Selected Contexts

Parenting in the Age of Preimplantation Gene Editing (pages S28–S33)
Sigal Klipstein

The Shifting Landscape of Prenatal Testing: Between Reproductive Autonomy and Public Health 
Vardit Ravitsky

Freezing Eggs and Creating Patients: Moral Risks of Commercialized Fertility
Elizabeth Reis and Samuel Reis-Dennis

A Call for Empirical Research on Uterine Transplantation and Reproductive Autonomy 
Cristie Cole Horsburgh

Autonomy, Regulation, and Clinical Duties: Balancing Values

Should Clinicians Set Limits on Reproductive Autonomy? 
Louise P. King

Reproductive Autonomy and Regulation—Coexistence in Action
Ruth Deech