Review by Choice Review
Lauritzen provides in-depth analysis of the ethical issues surrounding technology-assisted reproduction currently available (artificial insemination by husband and donor sperm, in vitro fertilization, and surrogate motherhood.) The text flows in an orderly fashion to explore promises that reproductive technology offers infertile couples; objections raised by the Catholic Church, conservative feminist groups, and others are explored. Topics include separation of the physical and spiritual intimacy in procreation, coercion, commercialization of reproduction, and the objectification of children. Current adoption practices are analyzed using the same ethical criteria. Lauritzen asserts that reproductive technology forces a rethinking of the definition, the meaning, and the cost of parenthood and the impact on children. In addition to the extensive review of literature, Lauritzen draws from his personal experience with infertility to raise questions about less apparent issues. The text complements The Ethics of Reproductive Technology, ed. by Kenneth D. Alpern (1992), as the focus of the discussion of each is quite different. Extensive endnotes and bibliography. Advanced undergraduate through professional. M. Auterman; Augustana College (SD)
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Lauritzen ( Religious Belief and Emotional Transformation ), a professor of religious studies at John Carroll University, believes that the availability of advanced reproductive technology should lead people to rethink what it means to be a parent--is it a biological or social obligation, or both? Although personal experience is partially involved--Lauritzen and his wife encountered difficulty in conceiving a child, and considered assisted-reproduction techniques--this is not a drawn-out account of their decisions or a medical description of the virtues and pitfalls of the procedures at hand (e.g., artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy). Instead, the book takes a critical look at attendant ethical issues: whether children should be told that they were conceived by artificial insemination, and how parents should relate to each other when one is a biological parent and the other is not. For critics of assisted reproduction--the Roman Catholic Church, for example--Lauritzen also discusses ethical problems associated with adoption. Good as it is, this is a work of scholarly consideration, and few couples considering alternative reproductive options would put it at the top of their reading lists. Most would probably concern themselves with other issues: the barrage of medical tests and procedures, as well as the anxiety that lies before them. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Choice Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
