Summary In this article Jennifer Parks brought up three radical feminists; Shulamith Firestone, Gena Corea and Janice Raymond, and their views. Starting with Firestone, who believed that there was another class division (sex class), and spoke of how woman's roles have been largely influenced by the male dominant culture. Shulamith Firestone understood that assisted reproductive technology could be a way for the masculine capitalist system to have further control over females, however she remained positive and was quoted saying “We shall assume flexibility and good intentions in those working out the change” (22). Firestone believed that this technology could open may doors that will liberate woman, making them…
Some examples of actual and alleged unethical conduct in practicing assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have given rise public debate about these rapidly progressing technologies. In certain instances it was believed that eggs stored for posterity by patients were used to impregnate others without any explanation, permission, or the informed consent of the parties. Although this was not the first time revelation of potential deception has ever come to light in the field of ART. There have been other cases where a doctor who operated a private clinic used his own sperm for artificial insemination without the patients consent. (Riddick, 2006) The following discusses assisted reproduction, surrogate parenting, what are the implications on the definition of parenting, is surrogate parenting good or bad, as well as if surrogate parenting a way to exploit the poor.…
Most people would go the religious way and say that if you can’t have children, then you shouldn’t because God has a different path for you. They could even argue about the cost of IVF. In the time and money you put into the treatment you could’ve gone and adopted a child. IVF is incredibly expense and to pay for it isn’t possible for most Americans. Some insurance companies won’t cover the procedure because of the amount of loopholes in laws that let them off and hurt the public. Many parents that go through this with their children could end up with birth defects. Many scientific studies show that there are more birth defects in children who are born from IVF than normal babies. The birth defects range anywhere from cardiac defects, to cleft lip, to gastrointestinal defects, to cancer of the eye. Even though IVF can help people have children there are many risks. The mother could have the baby prematurely or a low birth weight. The mother could also end up with ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome. This is when the ovaries become swollen and painful; it could lead to rapid weight gain and shortness of breath. It could also lead to a miscarriage, many birth defects, ovarian cancer, and more (Mayo Clinic Staff).…
Cesar Estrada Chavez was born March 31, 1927 in Yuma, Az. He died at age 66 on April 23, 1993 in San Luis, Az. Co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with Dolores Huerta. Cesar Chavez was a farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist. He is the best-known Latino American civil rights activist. His slogan was “Si, se puede” (“Yes, it is possible”). Since his death in 1993, California, Colorado, and Texas celebrate March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day. In 1942, Chavez graduated middle school and became a full time migrant farm worker. In 1952, Chavez stopped working in the fields, and began working for the Community Service Organization (CSO); Chavez became the program director in 1958. He encouraged Mexican Americans to vote while promoting workers rights. In 1962, Chavez joined forces with Dolores Huerta to form the National Farmers Association (NFWA) which was renamed United Farm Workers.…
When one or more persons contract with a woman to gestate a child than relinquish that child after birth to the person or couple is known as surrogacy. It is a course of action that goes outside of natural reproduction. For some, it is the only method of having children, extending family. Surrogacy has been stirring up many controversies over the years. Ethics, morals, laws, religious views, etc. have played a major role in the issues that follow the topic of surrogacy. Laws and regulations pertaining to surrogacy vary from state to state. Some states have no enforceable laws towards surrogacy, while others only permit surrogacy contracts that are uncompensated arrangements and gestational agreements (Trimarchi, 2011). Some states prohibit same sex couples from entering into any form of surrogacy contracts. In this paper, I will be address the legal and ethical issues involved and other aspects of surrogacy.…
This help the couples who are unable to have a baby because this technology can give a opportunity to start a family.…
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is one of the assisted reproduction technology techniques. It allows couples to overcome fertility problems. Male and female infertility are among the major barriers for couples that want children. Depending on the definition of infertility, the number of infertile couples worldwide may vary from 48.5 million to 72.4 million (Mascarenhas et al. 9). Among other assisted reproduction technology techniques aimed at reaching pregnancy, IVF shows the highest effectiveness rate. According to Van Voorhis, in 2003 there were more than 100,000 IVF cycles in the USA, almost half of which were successful (379). Although the IVF procedure has some disadvantages, it is a major step in overcoming some fertility problems.…
Couples who are battling with infertility can benefit from human cloning. By having a cloned cell implanted into a mother’s uterus, she can possibly have a child that she could not have had through natural procreation. Human cloning can give infertile couples a biological child who received genes from one or both parents. Those who are advocates for reproductive cloning generally give three reasons: The goodness of human freedom, existence, and well-being. People believe that human cloning for reproduction purposes is not making themselves free, but that they are free to practice human cloning. They want to the ability to decide based on their own moral values what is right and wrong with having a cloned child. The goodness of existence has people advocating for the potential cloned child. People argue that once the cloned child is born it would “prefer existence as a clone to no existence at all (PCBE).” No one can verify that the child would believe that statement once they are old enough to think for themselves. The final argument for human cloning is for the goodness of well-being. This argument is for using human cloning to help infertile couples to have a biological child. Other people argue that the well-being is to benefit the genetic quality of the next generation by ensuring that all diseases and disorders that the child may inherit are removed…
Infertility, or sterility, is the inability to produce offspring or the inability to conceive. Although the majority of American men and women assume that they will mature, fall in love, and create children of their own, the rate of fertility continues to decrease over the years, and the American dream of becoming a parent does not always become a reality. Although some men and women are complacent with adoption or an egg/sperm donation, others who plan for a child of their own consider infertility as a major devastation. Research has shown that over thirty percent of women in America experience complications with fertility and fourteen percent of all clinically recognized pregnancies in America result in a miscarriage or stillbirth (Schwerdtfeger). However, fertility is not just a concern for females. For centuries, if a couple were unable to have children, the fault was put on the women, although we now know that both men and women suffer equally from fertility complications. Among couples who are infertile, about forty percent of cases are exclusively due to female infertility, forty percent to male infertility and ten percent involving problems with both partners (McArthur). The factor of not being able to produce offspring is a hard concept to endure for both genders, and can result in severe emotional issues that can be sustained for an extended period of time. The effects of being infertile can take a severe toll on one’s relationship with family, friends, and most commonly, their significant other.…
There are few cases where the conventional options cannot be used for having a baby. In such cases, couples can solicit the assistance of a third party to provide sperm, egg or carry a child for them. This is termed as ‘surrogacy.’ Women without uterus or with uterine diseases or with hysterectomy done can choose surrogacy for having a…
Eugenics is “the study of human heredity and genetic principles for the purposes of improving the human race by limiting the proliferation of defective gene pools” (Polirstok, 2011). In other words, Davenport wanted the law to be passed to be able to sterilize the mentally ill so that they were unable to continue populating the world with other mentally ill people. Charles Davenport, the founder of the American eugenics movement, was one of many Americans that were really pushing for this new form of “science" to take over and become a popular trend among our government. Davenport believed by using eugenics that he could help rid the world of the mentally ill people so our world would be less full of crime and poor people. He believed that…
I read this quote and I couldn’t not have it at the start of this essay. No one , no women in the world deserve not to have this feeling, first and foremost its god’s decision but it doesn’t mean we can’t try. IVF or in other words , test tube babies. What is IVF ? IVF is the removal of an egg from a woman 's body, fertilizing it with a man 's sperm and putting it back into her body for implantation in the uterus. It doesn’t always work , but most of the time it does and it has helped a lot of couples. It is a great way to make most infertile couples dreams of having a baby come true.…
Henig (2004), a poll in 1969 showed that about 50% of American adults believed that IVF was against God’s will and would encourage proximity. Louise brown therefore served as a proof that the process of IVF could indeed produce healthy children and an estimate of 1 million babies have been conceived using the IVF method. Although widely accepted, religious protesters still see the process as ‘playing God’ and should not be thought of as a means of conception. Some also believe that producing children artificially could also lead to some deficiencies in the children and they might be more prone to diseases or might not be as mentally stable as naturally conceived children. A study was conducted by Ceelen.M (et al, 2007) to investigate the difference between IVF children and naturally born children. The results stated that IVF children have a defective body fat composition although it was also said that more research was needed in order to arrive at a valid conclusion. Despite the concerns, the IVF process has become an alternative most people now agree on and the number of artificially conceived children is rising steadily even though the success rates of IVF conception is far less than what is…
Becoming a parent is a life changing decision and for some, it can be very difficult to have a child of their own. There are many different options, from adoption to in-vitro fertilization. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 6.7 million women between the ages of 15-44 are infertile in the United States. The joy of becoming a mother is a blessing and many of these women end up searching for other alternatives. There has been much debate on the concept of surrogate motherhood. Surrogacy gives the opportunity for infertile women and gay couples to become parents and raise children of their own, but is this the best option?…
Artificial insemination is a great medical procedure that gives women the chance to have a baby without having a male present in their life, but it does limit the knowledge of the child knowing the other 50% of his or her genes, especially if the donor was anonymous. Some women use this medical procedure for different circumstances: being unmarried, window of opportunity closing, or simply because the women are independent and feels like she does not need the help of a man to raise a child; whatever the reason it maybe, majority of sperm donors are anonymous to avoid complications in the future. Who knows, the mother could possibly become overwhelmed with the job of being a single parent and she might look for the donor and demand him to have some responsibly; which defeats the whole purpose of artificial insemination. A child conceived through artificial insemination does not know the potential genetic diseases that might be passed on from the father; therefore, sperm donors should not have the option to remain…