By Benjamin Lange. In my recent JME paper, Moral Parenthood: Not Gestational, I challenge the idea that the moral right to parent our biological children should be grounded by appeal to the value of the intimate emotional relationship that gestation facilitates between a newborn and a gestational procreator. This issue is important because it addresses one […]
Category: Pregnancy
Mothers of today, mothers of tomorrow
By Emanuele Mangione Who are the “mothers” of today? It is common opinion that assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) changed motherhood forever, especially biological motherhood. Nowadays a child can have a single biological mother, that is someone who contributes both genetically and gestationally to their creation; two biological mothers, that is a genetic mother who […]
Medical authority and expectations of conformity: undermining person-centred maternity care
By Anna Nelson. There is an ongoing ‘maternity crisis’ in the UK, and too many women and birthing people face barriers to accessing respectful, person-centred maternity care. Charities, campaigners and journalists continue to emphasise the consequences of this state of affairs, both for individuals and for society more widely. Individuals may experience harm to their […]
Is pregnancy a disease?
By Joona Räsänen. Pregnancy shares many similarities with conditions we classify as diseases. In our new paper, “Is Pregnancy a Disease? A Normative Approach,” published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, we suggest that there are several reasons why pregnancy should be classified as a disease. Like other diseases, pregnancy causes a wide range of […]
Could a potential cure for morning sickness actually lead to more discrimination for pregnant women?
By Frances Hand. Scientific research has recently been published which explains why almost 80% of women experience morning sickness during pregnancy. This study revealed a causal link between foetal production of the hormone GDF15 and nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. It is therefore hoped that, given this new information, more precise mechanisms can now be […]
Premature endings: Pregnancy loss and artificial placentas
By Victoria Adkins and Elizabeth Chloe Romanis. Our paper Artificial Placentas, Pregnancy Loss & Loss-Sensitive Care discusses the concept of pregnancy loss without procreative loss: this is how we can recognise the experience of loss formerly pregnant individuals may feel when their pregnancy ends prematurely, even if their foetus/premature infant survives. After articulating and exploring […]
Ethical disclosure of information in childbirth
Kelly Irvine and Rebecca CH Brown. Contemplating what ethical care during pregnancy looks like leads to considerations of how, when and what information is provided. The provision of information is not a new concept medically or legally: it is well established that healthcare providers must ensure that patients are informed about the medical treatments available […]
A new argument on personhood, based on pregnancy
By Heloise Robinson. This blog post is about a JME article I have just written, in which I make a new argument on personhood, in relation to pregnancy. I argue that, if we follow a threshold concept of personhood, there are reasons to recognise a second threshold that would be reached because of pregnancy, and […]
Sodium valproate: an “essential medicine”, but for whom?
By Rachel Arkell. On 2nd May 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a statement on “the risks associated with valproic acid in women and girls of childbearing potential”, alerting stakeholders to its revised guidance. It states valproic acid should not be prescribed to this cohort of patients due to associated risks of “birth defects […]
Extra-corporeal gestation, or why things still stink
By Giulia Cavaliere. It is once again November and I am once again—three years since writing this piece—thinking about extra-corporeal gestation, the futuristic prospect of supporting foetuses in an artificial uterine environment. Considering that it cannot be the approaching winter months that sparked a wave of fresh thoughts on this technological possibility, what is? A […]