Achieving National Altruistic Self-Sufficiency in Human Eggs for Third-Party Reproduction in Canada

Βaylis, Françoise; Downie, Jocelyn

doi:10.3138/ijfab.7.2.0164

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…First, does absolutism re-emerge in Phillips' discussion, despite her commitment to a continuum of commodification? 9 The ghost of the absolute wrong of commodification seems to haunt mention of the "non-reversible," one directional relation between a surrogate and intended parent(s). To call this relationship "non-reversible" recalls feminist concerns that motherhood is conferred gestationally and that the surrogate is a mother (even if she is not the only mother) who gives up maternal responsibilities (39).…”

Section: Commodification Critiques and Equalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Self-sufficiency refers to a regulatory approach for a medical product or service that seeks to meet a community's need through unpaid donations from other community members. Blood donation is one of the most ubiquitous examples of self-sufficiency for a medical product, and some Canadian feminists have called for a similar self-sufficiency approach to egg donation and surrogacy in Canada (9,40). Oftentimes, self-sufficiency is contrasted with market-based approaches.…”

Section: Commodification Critiques Policy Contributions and Moral Gmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Partial Defense of the Non-Commercialization of Surrogacy

Fulfer

2020

bioethics

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Canada’s Assisted Human Reproduction Act justifies its non-commercialization approach to surrogacy on the grounds that commercial payments for surrogacy commodify women and are exploitative. However, empirical evidence suggests that payments in surrogacy are not exploitative, at least not to an extent that would warrant criminalizing payments. Given skepticism about the connection between exploitation and commodification, I explore whether commodification critiques can ground an alternative justification for the non-commercialization of surrogacy. First, I examine Vida Panitch’s argument that commodification critiques are flawed for being absolutist, that is, they cannot identify what makes some surrogacy transactions better or worse than others. Second, I examine Anne Phillips’ rearticulation of a commodification critique: Commercial surrogacy is problematic because it undermines equality in a democratic society. I argue that Phillips’ revision can escape absolutism and provide a better justification for Canada’s non-commercialization stance. However, it also entails that the preference for criminalizing payments is weakened, as other policy solutions might be effectively implemented to protect equality. As a result, I propose a shift in how commodification is appealed to: Less attention should be paid to abstract values and more attention should be given to how those values are enacted relationally between members of a political community. I also tentatively suggest that commodification critiques might provide a normative basis in Canadian policy for a self-sufficiency regulatory framework, which centres on values such as solidarity and the public good.

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Section: Commodification Critiques and Equalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Commodification Critiques Policy Contributions and Moral Gmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Partial Defense of the Non-Commercialization of Surrogacy

Fulfer

2020

bioethics

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“…Although there has been no systematic medical tracking of the effects of egg cell procurement on otherwise healthy young women, there is no evidence base for the safety of the procedure in the medical literature, and there are controversies regarding long-term risks of breast and ovarian cancer [48]. Anecdotes abound of loss of fertility, stroke, cancer and premature death, while psychological risks of detachment from resultant children might arise years later [49, 50]. …”

Section: Areas Of Concernmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethics and regulation of inter-country medically assisted reproduction: a call for action

Shalev

Moreno

Eyal

et al. 2016

Isr J Health Policy Res

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The proliferation of medically assisted reproduction (MAR) for the treatment of infertility has brought benefit to many individuals around the world. But infertility and its treatment continue to be a cause of suffering, and over the past decade, there has been a steady growth in a new global market of inter-country medically assisted reproduction (IMAR) involving ‘third-party’ individuals acting as surrogate mothers and gamete donors in reproductive collaborations for the benefit of other individuals and couples who wish to have children. At the same time there is evidence of a double standard of care for third-party women involved in IMAR, violations of human rights of children and women, and extreme abuses that are tantamount to reproductive trafficking. This paper is the report of an inter-disciplinary working group of experts who convened in Israel to discuss the complex issues of IMAR. In Israel too IMAR practices have grown rapidly in recent years, mainly because of restrictions on access to domestic surrogacy for same sex couples and a chronically insufficient supply of egg cells for the treatment of couples and singles in need. Drawing upon local expertise, the paper describes documented practices that are harmful, suggests principles of good practice based on an ethic of care, and calls for action at the international, national and professional levels to establish a human rights based system of international governance for IMAR based on three regulatory models: public health monitoring, inter-country adoption, and trafficking in human beings, organs and tissues.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13584-016-0117-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“I would want to pay her”: Challenging altruistic egg exchanges in Canada through moral patchworks

Miner

2021

Social Science & Medicine

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Achieving National Altruistic Self-Sufficiency in Human Eggs for Third-Party Reproduction in Canada

Cited by 5 publications

References 20 publications

A Partial Defense of the Non-Commercialization of Surrogacy

A Partial Defense of the Non-Commercialization of Surrogacy

Ethics and regulation of inter-country medically assisted reproduction: a call for action

“I would want to pay her”: Challenging altruistic egg exchanges in Canada through moral patchworks

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