OMICS for the Identification of Biomarkers for Oocyte Competence, with Special Reference to the Mare as a Prospective Model for Human Reproductive Medicine

Abstract Since 1987, the year of birth of the first child conceived outside the womb, experiments with human life have been leading to an intense public debate about the benefits, chances and risks of research in reproductive medicine. For what had formerly existed in fictional worlds only, be it the alchemical mind game, the homunculus- recipe of Paracelsus or the breeding centre of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, was now happening in reality. With in vitro fertilization becoming a feasible alternative to creating offspring, the literary forms of representation for those technologies changed, too. This will be analysed in three exemplary 1980s novels with regard to topical focus, modifications in genre poetics and specific rhetoricity. It becomes apparent that in the age of human reproductive technology, the old motif of life from the lab has long lost its fictitious status and now manifests itself in diverse, sometimes bizarre ways as a part of social reality. As a result, authors now focus on the specific ethical and social problems of reproductive medicine. However, for fictional elaboration and rhetorical ornamentation of dystopias, bio-genetics and nanotechnology are mostly consulted because these sciences offer means of seemingly creating perfected and custom-made descendants.

Download Full-text

Bioethical and Moral Perspectives in Human Reproductive Medicine

The Linacre Quarterly ◽

10.1177/0024363918816697 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 85 (4) ◽

pp. 385-398

Author(s):

Joseph V. Turner ◽

Lucas A. McLindon

Keyword(s):

Male Infertility ◽

Reproductive Medicine ◽

Real Life ◽

Double Effect ◽

Reproductive Technology ◽

Hormonal Contraceptives ◽

Same Sex ◽

Medical Practitioners ◽

Humanae Vitae ◽

Human Reproductive

A reductive reading of Humanae vitae seeks to limit its appeal to a ban on contraception. In truth, however, it offers a vision of human sexuality and conjugal love with broad and enduring relevance. In setting forth the intrinsic complementarity and irreducibility of the unitive and procreative dimensions of the conjugal act, Paul VI has given us a hermeneutical key for assessing many contemporary ethical dilemmas in human reproductive medicine. From this perspective, this article seeks to apply the logic of Humanae vitae to several real-life scenarios confronted by medical practitioners, educators, and ethicists working in the field of fertility and reproductive health. These include a consideration of the ethics of prescribing hormonal contraceptives, the possibilities of investigating male infertility, issues of cooperation in counseling and assisting conception in same-sex relationships, the ethics pertaining to assisted reproductive technology (ART), the contested case of prenatal adoption, and the application of double-effect reasoning. Summary: On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae vitae, this article seeks to defend its enduring relevance to modern-day society, through application of its reasoning to contemporary dilemmas in reproductive medicine. It considers real cases of the ethics of prescribing hormonal contraceptives, of investigating male infertility, of cooperating in counseling and assisting conception in same-sex relationships, of ART, of prenatal adoption, and the application of double-effect reasoning.

Download Full-text