Pregnancy and childbirth involve several health risks and sacrifices. With these dangers, many women are unable to conceive safely or physically. Using brain-dead women as surrogates is suggested in a new paper as a controversial solution.
Recent research published in the Journal of Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics suggests that brain-dead people should be utilized as surrogates. According to Professor Anna Smajdor of the University of Oslo in Norway, it might be conceivable for brain-dead women to carry a pregnancy to term despite the potential that it would be a troubling endeavor.
Whole-body gestational donation (WBGD) or surrogacy, according to Snajdor, should be an option for individuals who do not choose to undergo pregnancy or endanger their own bodies. The procedure may be unsettling, but “the majority of the ethical issues that may be connected with it are equally applicable to other areas of medical and/or reproductive practice.”
As pregnancy and childbirth can cause serious health problems, even in affluent countries with ample healthcare, Smajdor believes it should be possible to shift the risks to people who would not be impacted. According to the paper, “whole body gestational donation provides an alternate mode of gestation for prospective parents who wish to have children but cannot or do not wish to gestate.”
It appears feasible that some individuals would be willing to consider sacrificing their entire bodies for gestational purposes, just as some individuals donate organs. Smajdor also suggested that brain-dead men may be able to conceive, hence expanding the donor pool.
She came to the conclusion: “On the one hand, what I propose here can be considered as a thought experiment. Nonetheless, if we consider WBGD to be egregiously repugnant, this raises some unsettling considerations regarding the future of cadaveric organ donation.
If, on the other hand, WBGD is considered as a straightforward method for promoting safer reproduction and avoiding the moral issues associated with surrogacy, we should be willing to accept it as a logical and helpful extension of behaviors that we currently view as morally unproblematic.”
