Overview

Genetic screening technologies involving pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) raise particular issues about selective reproduction and the welfare of the child to be born. How does selection impact on the identity of the child who is born? Are children who are selected for a particular purpose harmed or treated as commodities? How far should the state interfere with parents’ reproductive choices? Currently, concerns about the welfare of the child in selective reproduction have focused on the individual interests of the child to be born. This book re-evaluates the welfare of the child through the controversial topic of saviour sibling selection. Drawing on relational feminist and communitarian ethics, Michelle Taylor-Sands argues that the welfare of the child to be born is inextricably linked with the welfare of his/her family. The author proposes a relational model for selective reproduction based on a broad conception of the welfare of the child that includes both individual and collective family interests. By comparing regulation in the UK and Australia, the book maps out how law and policy might support a relational model for saviour sibling selection. With an interdisciplinary focus, Saviour Siblings: A Relational Approach to the Welfare of the Child in Selective Reproduction will be of particular interest to academics and students of bioethics and law as well as practitioners and policymakers concerned with the ethics of selective reproduction.

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9781138935310

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Reviews

"""Michelle Taylor-Sands’ new book cuts through debate by arguing that the focus of each of these opposing positions is unduly individualistic, and that we should instead focus upon the interests of the family within which the child will live."" - Emily Jackson, Journal of Medical Ethics (2014) ""One of Taylor-Sands’ most interesting suggestions is that there might a difference between selecting a (future) child because it is congenitally deaf and some other forms of selective reproduction."" - Wilkinson for Journal of Medical Ethics (2014) ""I think Taylor-Sands may be onto something with her claim that it is more honest to admit that many medical decisions are made not for the benefit of the patient, but because they confer enormous benefit on others at little cost to the patients themselves."" - Gavaghan for Journal of Medical Ethics (2014)"

Taylor-Sands' analysis of the issues and her call for regulation which is more sophisticated than the individualised approach common in discussion of the issues is a breath of fresh air. Saviour Siblings is a most impressive piece of medico-legal scholarship. It is tightly and thoughtfully written. It is the most important contribution thus far on the issue and will be an important reference point on the topic for some time to come. This is particularly important as every indication is that technological advances will result in selective reproduction becoming an increasingly significant and available option and, accordingly, there wil be a need for both a moral compass and a viable regulatory scheme in respect of such decision-making. Taylor-Sands' Saviour Siblings takes the debate on these issues forward in a logical, empathic and constructive direction. Ian Freckelton, Journal of Law and Medicine

Taylor-Sands' analysis of the issues and her call for regulation which is more sophisticated than the individualised approach common in discussion of the issues is a breath of fresh air. Saviour Siblings is a most impressive piece of medico-legal scholarship. It is tightly and thoughtfully written. It is the most important contribution thus far on the issue and will be an important reference point on the topic for some time to come. This is particularly important as every indication is that technological advances will result in selective reproduction becoming an increasingly significant and available option and, accordingly, there wil be a need for both a moral compass and a viable regulatory scheme in respect of such decision-making. Taylor-Sands' Saviour Siblings takes the debate on these issues forward in a logical, empathic and constructive direction. Ian Freckelton, Journal of Law and Medicine

Author Information

Michelle Taylor-Sands is a senior lecturer in the Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne and has advised the Victoria government on assisted reproductive treatment. Michelle is published in the field of saviour sibling selection and the welfare of the child to be born.

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