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Chapter 40 - Christian Ethics in Fertility Preservation

from Section 10 - Ethical, Legal, and Religious Issues

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2021

By
Brent Waters
Edited by
Jacques Donnez  and
S. Samuel Kim
Jacques Donnez
Affiliation:
Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels
S. Samuel Kim
Affiliation:
University of Kansas School of Medicine
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Summary

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an interpretive framework for examining how Christian theological tenets and convictions might inform an ethical assessment of fertility preservation. In undertaking this task I make no attempt to survey various religions, other than to note that their respective beliefs inspire disparate moral assessments of the medical procedures deployed in preserving fertility. Subsequent inquiry in comparative religious ethics and interfaith dialogue are certainly required given the diverse character of contemporary society, but will need to be pursued by scholars with greater expertise. I also do not attempt to make a systematic or normative assessment of fertility preservation in general, nor do I offer any detailed evaluation of the discrete ethical issues accompanying the particular medical procedure described in the previous chapters. Again, these are important tasks, but beyond the limited scope of this chapter.

Type
Chapter
Information
Fertility Preservation
Principles and Practice
 , pp. 452 - 461
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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