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Published on: April 14, 2023
Ethical considerations for non-procreative uterus transplantation
1Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, København, Denmark.
Abstract:
The growing demand for uterus transplantation (UTx) invites continued philosophical evaluation of the function of UTx (and what constitutes its 'success'), as well as the recipient eligibility for UTx. Currently, UTx caters to partnered, cisgender women of childbearing age looking to get pregnant and give birth to a biogenetically related child. The medical justification for this-the treatment of uterine infertility-explains the primacy of this practice. However, this dominant conceptualization of UTx does not necessarily capture the diverse needs for which both cis- and transgender women might take interest in UTx that are not strictly procreative, such as bodily integrity and gender identity reasons. In this paper, I argue that non-procreative motivations for uterus acquisition ought to be taken seriously as a matter of non-discrimination and consistency.

