Home > Research > Publications & Outputs > Pushing the boundaries: Uterine transplantation...

Links

Text available via DOI:

View graph of relations

Pushing the boundaries: Uterine transplantation and the limits of reproductive autonomy

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>15/10/2018
<mark>Journal</mark>Bioethics
Issue number8
Volume32
Number of pages10
Pages (from-to)489-498
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

Over the course of recent years, various scientific advances in the realm of reproduc‐ tion have changed the reproductive landscape, enhancing women’s procreative rights and the choices available to them. Uterus transplants (UTx) are the latest of such medical innovations aimed at restoring fertility in women suffering from absolute uterine factor infertility, providing them with the possibility not only of conceiving a genetically related child but also of gestating their own pregnancies. This paper criti‐ cally examines the primacy of reproductive liberty in the context of uterus transplan‐ tation. It questions whether and to what extent we should respect the reproductive autonomy of a woman who chooses UTx, given the significant risks that attach to the procedure and existing concerns that UTx may perpetuate potentially troubling gen‐ dered norms surrounding pregnancy and the role of women’s bodies in reproduction, which may place undue reproductive pressures on women.