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Reproductive Information and Reproductive Decision-Making.
1Arthur E. Petersilge Professor of Law and Director of the Law-Medicine Center, Case School of Law, and Professor of Biomedical Ethics, Case School of Medicine. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1975, and holds two bachelors degrees, one from Reed College and one from Oxford University, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. Prior to joining the Case faculty in 1984, Professor Mehlman practiced law with Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C., where he specialized in federal regulation of health care and medical technology. He is the co-author of Access to the Genome: The Challenge to Equality; co-editor, with Tom Murray, of the Encyclopedia of Ethical, Legal and Policy Issues in Biotechnology; co-author of Genetics: Ethics, Law and Policy, the first casebook on genetics and law, now in its third edition; and author of Wondergenes: Genetic Enhancement and the Future of Society (Indiana University Press, 2003), The Price of Perfection: Individualism and Society in the Era of Biomedical Enhancement (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009), and Transhumanist Dreams and Dystopian Nightmares: The Promise and Peril of Genetic Engineering (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012).
Reproductive choice opponents cite various reasons to limit reproductive decisions. However, this commentary argues these reason-based limitations are ultimately unsupportable and unenforceable.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Health
- Bioethics
- Public Policy
Background:
- Reproductive rights are a subject of ongoing debate.
- Opposition to reproductive choice often stems from specific underlying rationales.
- Understanding these rationales is crucial for policy and ethical discussions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the rationales behind attempts to limit reproductive decisions.
- To examine the objections raised against these limitations.
- To assess the validity and enforceability of reason-based reproductive restrictions.
Main Methods:
- This is a commentary, involving critical analysis and synthesis of existing arguments.
- It examines philosophical, ethical, and legal perspectives on reproductive decision-making.
- The commentary reviews common arguments used to justify limitations on reproductive choice.
Main Results:
- Identified various underlying reasons cited by opponents of reproductive choice.
- Outlined the primary objections to these reason-based limitations.
- Evaluated the logical and practical coherence of the justifications provided.
Conclusions:
- Reason-based limitations on reproductive decisions lack sufficient justification.
- These limitations face significant ethical and practical challenges, rendering them unsupportable.
- The commentary concludes that such restrictions are ultimately unenforceable.
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