Posthumous reproduction refers to the procedure that enables a child to be conceived using the gametes of a dead person. Advances in reproductive technology mean it is now possible to assist in creating a life after you die, and in recent years the number of women who have attempted to get pregnant using posthumous reproduction has increased. However, the law in many jurisdictions has not put regulations in place to deal with the ethical and legal consequences that arise as a result of posthumous reproduction. This is the first book to exclusively focus on posthumous reproduction. The book comprehensively explores the legal and ethical issues surrounding posthumous reproduction in a number of jurisdictions including the US, Israel, the UK and France. The book looks at a number of issues including: ascertaining the wishes of the dead and protecting the reproductive rights of men who have deposited frozen sperm in clinics prior to their deaths; cases involving people who want to acquire fresh sperm from deceased or incompetent men and determining who should have the right to accept the sperm; identifying the parents of the posthumously conceived child; and discussing the need to promote the best interests of the child. The book critically examines the current laws that are in place and proposes additional regulations and policies in order to effectively regulate posthumous reproduction.

Israel is the only country in the world that offers free fertility treatments to nearly any woman who requires medical assistance. It also has the world's highest per capita usage of in-vitro fertilization. Examining state policies and the application of reproductive technologies among Jewish Israelis, this volume explores the role of tradition and politics in the construction of families within local Jewish populations. The contributors—anthropologists, bioethicists, jurists, physicians and biologists—highlight the complexities surrounding these treatments and show how biological relatedness is being construed as a technology of power; how genetics is woven into the production of identities; how reproductive technologies enhance the policing of boundaries. Donor insemination, IVF and surrogacy, as well as abortion, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and human embryonic stem cell research, are explored within local and global contexts to convey an informed perspective on the wider Jewish Israeli environment.

To what extent should parents be able to choose the kind of child they have? The unfortunate phrase 'designer baby' has become familiar in debates surrounding reproduction. As a reference to current possibilities the term is misleading, but the phrase may indicate a societal concern of some kind about control and choice in the course of reproduction. Typically, people can choose whether to have a child. They may also have an interest in choosing, to some extent, the conditions under which they do so, such as whether they have a child with a serious disability or disease. The purpose of this book is to explore the difficult and controversial question of the appropriate ethical and legal extent of reproductive autonomy in this context. The book examines ethical, legal and public policy issues in prenatal screening, prenatal diagnosis (PND), selective abortion and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). It explores the ethics of these selection practices and the ability of current ethical guidelines and legal mechanisms, including the law on selective abortion and wrongful birth, to deal with advances in genetic and other knowledge in these areas. Unlike in the United States, in England the relevant law is not inherently rights-based, but the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 inevitably raises questions about the proper scope of reproductive autonomy in this context. The implications of the analysis are considered for the development of relevant law, public policy and ethical guidelines and will be of interest to academics in medical law and ethics, health professionals, lawyers, those working on public policy and students with an interest in these issues.

Death, Posthumous Harm, and Bioethics offers a highly distinctive and original approach to the metaphysics of death and applies this approach to contemporary debates in bioethics that address end-of-life and post-mortem issues. Taylor defends the controversial Epicurean view that death is not a harm to the person who dies and the neo-Epicurean thesis that persons cannot be affected by events that occur after their deaths, and hence that posthumous harms (and benefits) are impossible. He then extends this argument by asserting that the dead cannot be wronged, finally presenting a defence of revisionary views concerning posthumous organ procurement.

Posthumous reproduction refers to the procedure that enables a child to be conceived using the gametes of a dead person. Advances in reproductive technology mean it is now possible to assist in creating a life after you die, and in recent years the number of women who have attempted to get pregnant using posthumous reproduction has increased. However, the law in many jurisdictions has not put regulations in place to deal with the ethical and legal consequences that arise as a result of posthumous reproduction. This is the first book to exclusively focus on posthumous reproduction. The book comprehensively explores the legal and ethical issues surrounding posthumous reproduction in a number of jurisdictions including the US, Israel, the UK and France. The book looks at a number of issues including: ascertaining the wishes of the dead and protecting the reproductive rights of men who have deposited frozen sperm in clinics prior to their deaths; cases involving people who want to acquire fresh sperm from deceased or incompetent men and determining who should have the right to accept the sperm; identifying the parents of the posthumously conceived child; and discussing the need to promote the best interests of the child. The book critically examines the current laws that are in place and proposes additional regulations and policies in order to effectively regulate posthumous reproduction.

A collection of studies in bioethics and society that goes beyond conventional medical ethics and suggests political, socio-legal, and empirical analysis.

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) include the artificial or partially artificial methods to achieve pregnancy. These new technologies lead to substantial changes regarding of ethical and legal aspects in reproductive medicine. The book focuses on current hot topics about ethical dilemmas in ART, e.g. about the duties of ethical committees, guidelines regarding informed consent, ethical and legal aspects of sperm donation, embryo donation, ethics of embryonic stem cells, therapeutical cloning, patenting of human genes, commercialization.

Advances in reproductive and perinatal medicine have given rise to difficult ethical issues. Do all women have the right to choose whether to reproduce? What is the moral status of the fetus during various stages of gestation and what obligations do parents have to the fetus during this period? In this book Carson Strong develops an ethical framework that helps resolve these and many other issues of vital concern to health professionals, policymakers, and the general public. Strong begins by exploring the significance of reproductive freedom, drawing on constitutional law and feminist writings, among other sources. Next he assesses the moral status of offspring during preembryonic, embryonic, fetal, and postnatal stages of development, discussing the obligations of procreators during gestation and offering a new perspective on the idea that the moral standing of the fetus increases as fetal development proceeds. He then suggests an approach to the question of how priorities should be assigned to conflicting values, one that draws on a version of casuistic reasoning. In the second half of the book, Strong applies this ethical framework to some of the problematic areas in reproductive and perinatal medicine. These include prenatal genetic testing for susceptibilities to common diseases and for "enhancement" of offspring; research using preembryos and embryos; nontraditional family arrangements, such as surrogate motherhood and ovum donation for older women; and treatment of fetuses with anomalies. His discussion takes into account the clinical dimensions of issues and reflects a thorough consideration of the ethical, legal, medical, and psychosocial literature.

This comprehensive, multidisciplinary guide provides an up-to-date presentation of fertility preservation techniques with male cancer patients and other challenging conditions. Divided into four thematic sections, part one provides an overview of the pathophysiologic processes interrelating cancer and its treatment with infertility and discusses different methods of sperm preservation and fertility outcomes in cancer patients. Part two then explores male fertility preservation in various non-cancerous conditions, such as immunosuppressed, hypogonadal and transgender patients. The fundamental principles of cryobiology and sperm optimization are covered in part three, which also offers essential building blocks for scientists to develop a sperm banking service and implement high standards of practice. The final section describes the current practices of male fertility preservation along with its psychological impact on patients, and extends beyond to future innovative methods—tissue preservation, xenografting and artificial gametes—being researched and implemented in this field. Fertility preservation among cancer patients and survivors is an evolving practice, which involves focused research and timely collaboration of professionals from related fields. The Complete Guide to Male Fertility Preservation is unique and original in its design and will appeal to a larger audience of andrologists, reproductive endocrinologists, urologists, embryologists, and all other clinicians practicing reproductive medicine and oncology.

Presents the discourse in Jewish law and rabbinic literature on bioethical issues, highlighting practical problems in their socio-historical contexts.