Guardian or custodian: the ethical dimensions of human reproduction
Helen Watt has written a brave and provocative book - one sure to shake up many people’s closely held ‘certainties’ about the ethical issues surrounding pregnancy. As, The Ethics of Pregnancy, Abortion and Childbirth addresses the unique moral questions raised by pregnancy and its intimate bodily nature. From assisted reproduction to abortion and ‘vital conflict’ resolution to more everyday concerns of the pregnant woman, this book argues for pregnancy as a close human relationship with the woman as guardian or custodian, according to four approaches.
The approaches to pregnancy that are explored include: ‘uni-personal’, ‘neighborly’, ‘maternal’ and ‘spousal’. Here, the author challenges not only the view that there is only one moral subject to consider in pregnancy, but also the idea that the location of the fetus lacks all inherent, unique significance. It is argued that the pregnant woman is not a mere ‘neighbor’ or helpful stranger to the fetus but is rather already in a real familial relationship bringing real familial rights and obligations. If the status of the fetus is conclusive for at least some moral questions raised by pregnancy, so too are facts about its bodily relationship with, and presence in, the woman who supports it.
This lucid, accessible and original book explores fundamental ethical issues in a rich and often neglected area of philosophy in ways of interest also to those from other disciplines. In a style that is at once both accessible and rigorous, The Ethics of Pregnancy, Abortion and Childbirth addresses dimensions of human reproduction and pregnancy that have been heretofore ignored. One may disagree with some of Watt’s conclusions, but she has shown us what it will take to develop a morally consistent view about the complexities of our social and mammalian nature.
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