Designing babies : how technology is changing the ways we create children
by Robert Klitzman
Language: English
New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2020].
viii, 345 pages ; 25 cm.
ISBN: 9780190054472 ; 0190054476
Summary: Since the first "test-tube baby" was born over 40 years ago, In Vitro Fertilization and other Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) have advanced in extraordinary ways, producing millions of babies. An estimated 20% of American couples use infertility services to help them conceive, and that number is growing. Such technologies permit thousands of people, including gay and lesbian couples and single parents, to have offspring. Couples can now transmit or avoid passing on certain genes to their children, including those for chronic disease and, probably sometime soon, height and eye color as well. Prospective parents routinely choose even the sex of their future child and whether or not to have twins. The possibilities of this rapidly developing technology are astounding-especially in the United States, where the procedures are practically unregulated and a large commercial market for buying and selling human eggs is swiftly growing. New gene-editing technology, known as CRISPR, allows for even more direct manipulation of embryos' genes. As these possibilities are increasingly realized, potential parents, doctors, and policy-makers face complex and critical questions about the use-or possible misuse-of ARTs. Designing Babies confronts these questions, examining the ethical, social, and policy concerns surrounding reproductive technology. Based on in-depth interviews with providers and patients, Robert Klitzman explores how individuals and couples are facing quandaries of whether, when, and how to use ARTs. He articulates the full range of these crucial issues, from the economic pressures patients face to the moral and social challenges they encounter as they make decisions which will profoundly shape the lives of their offspring. In doing so, he reveals the broader social and biological implications of controlling genetics, ultimately arguing for closer regulation of procedures which affect the lives of generations to come and the future of our species as a whole.
Available: https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Babies-Technology-Changing-Children/dp/0190054476/
Subjects:
- Human Reproductive Technology -- Moral and ethical aspects
- Infertility
- Genetic engineering
- Reproductive techniques, Assisted -- Ethics
- Reproductive techniques, Assisted -- Economics
Infertility in the modern world : present and future prospects
by Gillian R Bentley; C. G. N. Mascie-Taylor, editors
Language: English
Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2000.
350 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.
ISBN: 0521643643 ; 9780521643641
Summary: As we enter the twenty-first century, a number of medical, environmental, and social changes have profoundly affected human reproduction. This book discusses some of the more dramatic changes in an accessible manner, illustrating the ways in which human biology and culture can affect fertility. It provides a unique interdisciplinary perspective on the subject. Topics of discussion include medical technological advances that equip us with potential cures for many causes of infertility; diseases, such as AIDS, that have a devastating impact on the reproductive and social lives of humans; increasing industrialization and the development of fabricated materials that pollute our environment in unforeseen ways with possibly devastating effects on human health and fertility; and social revolutions that profoundly alter human relationships, such as nonmarital unions between heterosexual couples, same-sex relationships, and adoption and surrogacy.
Available: http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/life-sciences/biological-anthropology-and-primatology/infertility-modern-world-present-and-future-prospects
The elusive embryo : how women and men approach new reproductive technologies
by Gaylene Becker
Language: English
Berkeley : University of California Press, 2000.
x, 320 p. ; 23 cm.
ISBN: 9780520925243 ; 0520925246
Summary: In the first book to examine the industry of reproductive technology from the perspective of the consumer, Gay Becker scrutinizes the staggering array of medical options available to women and men with fertility problems and assesses the toll—both financial and emotional—that the quest for a biological child often exacts from would-be parents. Becker interviewed hundreds of people over a period of years; their stories are presented here in their own words. Absorbing, informative, and in many cases moving, these stories address deep-seated notions about gender, self-worth, and the cultural ideal of biological parenthood. Becker moves beyond people's personal experiences to examine contemporary meanings of technology and the role of consumption in modern life. What emerges is a clear view of technology as culture, with technology the template on which issues such as gender, nature, and the body are being rewritten and continuously altered. The Elusive Embryo chronicles the history and development of reproductive technology, and shows how global forces in consumer culture have contributed to the industry's growth. Becker examines how increasing use of reproductive technology has changed ideas about "natural" pregnancy and birth. Discussing topics such as in vitro fertilization, how men and women "naturalize" the use of a donor, and what happens when new reproductive technologies don't work, Becker shows how the experience of infertility has become increasingly politicized as potential parents confront the powerful forces that shape this industry. The Elusive Embryo is accessible, well written, and well documented. It will be an invaluable resource for people using or considering new reproductive technologies as well as for social scientists and health professionals.
Available: http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520224315
