Making Babies: Is there a right to have children?

The development of new reproductive technologies has raised urgent questions and debates about how and by whom these treatments should be controlled.On the one hand individuals and groups have claimed access to assisted reproduction as a right, and some have also claimed that this access should be available free of charge. As well as clinically infertile heterosexual couples, this right has been claimed by single women, gay couples, post-menopausal women, and couples who wish to delay having children for various reasons. Others have argued that a desire to have children does not make it a human right, and, moreover, that there are some people who should not be assisted to become parents, on grounds of age, sexuality, or lifestyle.Mary Warnock steers a clear path through the web of complex issues underlying these views. She begins by analyzing what it means to claim something as a 'right', and goes on to discuss the cases of different groups of people. She also examines the ethical problems faced by particular types of assisted reproduction, including artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization, and surrogacy, and argues that in the future human cloning may well be a viable and acceptable form of treatment for some types of infertility.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Techniques of assisted reproduction Who pays? The right that no stone should be left unturned What constitutes a right? Do people need to have children? A further look at the question of whether there can exist a right to do what is morally wrong The moral status of the human embryo Back to infertility May doctors refuse treatment? The slippery slope Are those who are not infertile entitled to assisted conception? Openness Why do homosexuals want children? The natural and the unnatural The search for security Is fear a proper basis for moral judgement? Conslusions so far Are all methods of fertility treatment legitimate? Cloning: 1997-2001

About the Author :
Mary Warnock's work in academic philosophy includes the books Imagination, Memory, and Existentialism. Much of her career was spent at Oxford University, and she was later Mistress of Girton College Cambridge. She was made a life peer in 1985, and chaired the Committee of Enquiry into Human Fertilisation and Embryology, whose report formed the basis of legislation in the UK. Her most recent book is her autobiography, Mary Warnock: A Memoir.

Review :
`Review from previous edition In this book Mary Warnock discusses legal, natural, and ethical rights with particular references to human reproductive rights, and the right of access to the new reproductive technologies ... Essential reading for all.'' Professor Sir Malcolm MacNaughton `... a combination of common sense and clear, rigorous and, above all, honest, argument.' Mark Rowlands, TLS `... a remarkable and revealing book.' Derek Morgan, THLS `... the book is sprightly reading and food for serious thought. It would provide a good basis for discussion in high schools, colleges, and book clubs.' Nature `This is a well-informed and fair-minded contribution to an ongoing debate. It should be required reading for anyone intending to become a GP or a geneticist. More importantly, it is written in jargon-fee language that is readily comprehensible to the non-specialist reader.' Scotland on Sunday `... powerful little book.' Dea Birkett, The Independent `Warnock is delightfully clear-eyed - no mindless jargon or mind-numbing theory in this elegant book.' Sylvia Ann Hewlett, New Statesman `[Mary Warnock] writes with such lucidity that it is a pleasure to read her... This is practical philosophy as it should be written: concise, elegant and comprehensible. ... her book is a masterpiece of faultless clarity, that will enable everyone to think better about the ethical problems of the new technology. It is by far the best introduction to the subject.'' Theodore Dalrymple, The Sunday Telegraph `Warnock manages to communicate a wealth of accumulated insight into the ethics of assisted reproduction.' Susanne Gibson, Analytic Teaching `... a 'quick read' and a rather enjoyable one. No academic apparatus. No clutter.' Anthony Fisher