Anthropological Challenges Raised by New Reproductive Technologies

Societies changing attitudes have resulted in fewer adoptions, the use of the contraceptive pill and development of birth technologies

The articles purpose is to use legal sources to explore the decision to abort while the state, and the professions took a serious interest in the fertility control decisions of women. What is being argued is the fate of women burdened with unwanted

This article discusses the first two test tube babies meeting each other at a fertility conference. Through this, it displays how two of the first humans produced by this technology can bond over something such as their specialized births and what "life growing up in the spotlight has been like" (Simpson). The recognition of this event as a medical breakthrough helps to portray the importance of further advancement within this technology. As time continues so does the need to keep up with the new and upcoming technologies, and this article shows the importance of furthering the technology of IVF. The online article analyzed for the resolution of this topic was a book review in Louise Brown's autobiography. The review chose to focus on analyzing the parents of the first test tube baby opposed to the birth itself. This article states the negative effects IVF has had on the world and how it coincides with religion and moral beliefs. The review is very clearly against Louise Brown and what she has to say about the advancement that was her birth. Throughout the review, the author fails to include a counter argument for their

Marriage as one of the fiber could be viewed as an economic dependence where man is guaranteed that he will have his children born of a woman indicating how men steal childbirth from women. The laws that regulate contraception and abortion also add to the imprisonment of a woman in the motherhood institution. Fathers contribute minimally, but they are given rights and privileges over children. The author has pointed out ways in the role of mother has been weakening and the rigidity of its rules. The book has also indicated the extent of how mothers suffer in silence and the experiences they face under the laws supporting motherhood institution and fails to recognize women’s work at home as part of production activities. Men in many societies continue attaching minimal value to women and support that mothers role is reduced to mothering while they glorify the significant role that they play as parents. In the real life, men just go to work and play basic tasks in taking care and bringing up processes of children. Women have undergone hard times to arrive at the current level concerning being silenced, subjugated and easily mollified motherly

The author, Leonard Pitts, Jr., laments over how technology is a detriment to the traditional family structure and writes an editorial regarding this issue. He powerfully achieves his purpose by using aloneness words and an oxymoron.

Chile's health system has been evolving rapidly in recent years. The assigned role of the Chilean Medical Association has focused on medical ethics codes, and laws. Social organizations have emerged during the last decade and have been working together with the Chilean Fertility Society to change public health policies and attitudes in order to increase the access of people to modern reproductive technology. The current government has passed the August Law which decriminalizes abortion under three circumstances, the government also signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which establishes safe healthcare as a human right.(6) “Today, women have won, democracy has won, all of Chile has won,” said Bachelet(2). On the other hand, Reproductive technology, assisted reproductive technology (ART), is utilized but faces opposition from factors of social-religious conservatism, and gender-based discrimination. While reproductive technologies can be accessed by those who can afford out of pocket funding, most of the population relies on public healthcare, resulting in less than 4% of the population receiving treatment.(5) In this sense, more research of reproductive technologies, specifically mitochondrial transfer, should be reliant on biomedical research of genetic on bioethical levels, as gene therapy is authorized only for the purpose of treating diseases or preventing their appearance(4). In this sense, the mitochondrial

There are people around the world trying to have children right now, that cannot and need to use services like reproductive technology to even have the chance of a little one in their future. NRTs are one thing that can help, and it is moving forward with the advancements in technology and science. With this huge advancement in technology and science, many people are starting to question if these procedures are ethical. There are four principles of ethics. These principles are autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. Applying these principles of ethics to new reproductive technologies can

THE NO-BABY BOOM, by Anne Kingston, published in March 2014 was about the social infertility rates of twenty-first century women. Kingston uses credible evidence that shows that she wants to promote awareness and change the perception of how society views the topic of infertility. The way Kingston presents the information to the reader is by providing statistics, personal stories, and her personal opinion on the idea of the “childless” mother. Readers this is most likely to appeal to is people who are struggling with infertility. The concern and values throughout this article is the infertility rate of women and the way it affects their life styles. The reason that Kingston published this article is to let people become more aware of the

The most evident similarities and differences in our society and the world state society was regarding reproduction. A similarity our societies both share, is the process of in vitro. However, in our society, we

Ruth Hubbard’s “Test-Tube Babies: Solution or Problem?” first appeared in Technology Review in 1980. Hubbard addressed her audience with an initial objective tone, revealing the built up to her credibility on the issue of in vitro fertilization. Hubbard having specialized in biochemistry of vision and women’s health enforces the sense in the reader that she is to be trusted on this topic. Hubbard spoke at a time when in vitro fertilization was still a new developing technology as oppose to now. She spoke directly to society although at a certain point in her article; she focuses on a

Within the first page of this book, Susan Martha Kahn explains how “many Israelis have enthusiastically embraced new reproductive technologies as reasonable solutions to childlessness (Kahn 2000:1),” which sets the tone for this account as a whole, presenting the idea that childlessness is a problem to be solved in Israeli culture. This idea is engrained in the culture, and a barren woman is the center of sympathy. The biblical decree to “be fruitful and multiply” has a very important role for Jewish individuals, many of whom consider reproduction as “an imperative religious duty” Kahn 2000: 3). There is an evident pressure to become a parent in this kinship system, and this pressure falls on virtually all women, regardless of marital status. Many women use New Reproductive Technologies (NRTs) in order to fulfill this duty and give into this pressure, whether explicitly or implicitly; as many women desire to follow the Bible’s commandment, some wish to evade constant questions regarding children, others simply wish to become a mother to fit into the role they picture themselves in, and taking advantage of these treatments is a last resort for some to achieve motherhood (Kahn 2000:17). However, it is important to recognize that, as explained by a rabbi, “she is not obligated to procreate… the obligation to procreate only falls on the man” (Kahn 2000:57). Despite the male obligation to reproduce, women are still socially expected to become mothers. This access to NRTs makes

What makes this book to be a captivating literature is how the thoughts have been arranged in the book. First, Hvistendahl commits her first two-thirds of the book by investigating on the some of the reasons that are behind the existence of such a dreadful shift in the population within the Asian region. This is a clear indication that she is not just focused on reporting the problem, but analyzes the causes so that appropriate measures can be devised for the purpose of coming up with different ideas of handling such a devastating social problem. As indicated by Hvistendahl, there is planned abortion that is carried out on female offspring upon discovery through ultrasound, and this is carried out also by the wish of the parents (Hvistendahl 149).

How can the principles of ethics (autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice) assist in finding a middle ground on new reproductive technologies?

The belief that the control over both death and life in society is dehumanizing and not beneficial has increased, but those that view this idea tend to not see how beneficial the processes really are. Many people consider the fact that controlling the birth of the next generation to be cruel and dehumanizing. This case can be made, but so can the case for the benefits found in the use of technology to bring about the next generation. Many of those that see the processes used by technology as dehumanizing tend to overlook the joy that technology may give a family. With new techniques such as the ones described on page 93, both men and women can have their sexual prowess aroused, and even create life when deemed impossible. Of course many

Artificial reproductive technology (ART) is defined as procedures which stimulate a woman 's ovaries to produce eggs, the eggs are then removed, combined with sperm, and then returned to a woman 's body (Bell, 2016). ART is becoming more and more popular throughout that globe. This method of conceiving children gives women who may be struggling with infertility options that were not possible before the advent of such methods. ART is relevant to the sociological definition of global health because it is evidence of the fact that our world has become interdependent especially when it comes to medical technology. However with ART comes the notion of the culture of disguise and in many countries this is an integral part of artificial reproductive technology process. With that being said, sociologists should look to study and understand the culture of disguise in ART as it pertains to global health and it shapes interactions between people and the society they live in.