An article in the Journal of Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics reported that a Norwegian academic advocated for keeping brain-dead people alive and using them as “whole body gestational” surrogates.
The report claimed that “whole body gestational donation offers an alternate mode of gestation for potential parents who aspire to have children but cannot or do not wish to gestate.” Just as some people offer parts of their bodies for organ donation, it is feasible that some people would be willing to consider sacrificing their entire bodies for gestational purposes.
Professor of Practical Philosophy at the University of Oslo in Norway, Anna Smajdor wrote the article titled Whole Body Gestational Donation.
There is no evident medical reason why starting such pregnancies would not be conceivable, according to Smajdor, who also noted that it has already been established “that pregnancies may be successfully carried to term in brain-dead women.” She does, however, acknowledge that it is “undoubtedly a troubling prospect.”
Although it “may be disconcerting,” she argued that “whole body gestational donation” (WBGD) should be an option “for anyone who wishes to avoid the risks and burdens of gestating a fetus in their own body.” However, “most of the ethical problems that might be associated with it apply equally to other areas of medical and/or reproductive practice.”
The study claimed that pregnancy and childbirth pose significant health risks, even in wealthy environments with top-notch medical facilities.
Smajdor said, “We cannot yet completely abandon the uterus for the reproduction of our species.” However, we may shift the hazards of pregnancy to people who can no longer be affected by them.
WBGD “may stand out as being inappropriate from a feminist perspective,” Smajdor conceded.
She said that the idea of the unconscious woman’s body being filled and used as a vessel by others is a striking example of what feminists have been fighting against for a long time.
Smajdor further asserted that men who are brain dead “would also have the potential to conceive,” expanding the pool of donors and allaying feminist objections.
The possibility of a male gestation, the paper said, “may thereby assuage certain feminists who might otherwise feel that brain-dead gestation is a step too far in the commodification of women’s reproductive activities.”
Smajdor asserted, “The possibility of male pregnancy is not, as many might believe, fantastical, or a piece of science fiction.
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