Postmenopausal motherhood: Immoral, illegal? A case study

Bioethics

Volumn 21, Issue 8, 2007, Pages 458-463

  Cutas, Daniela ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Gamete donation; Medically assisted reproduction; Mono parental families; Parental motivation; Postmenopausal motherhood

Indexed keywords

BIOETHICS; CONFERENCE PAPER; MATERNAL AGE; MEDICAL ETHICS; MORALITY; MOTIVATION; PARENTHOOD; POSTMENOPAUSE; REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS; WOMEN'S RIGHTS;

FEMALE; FERTILIZATION IN VITRO; HUMANS; ILLEGITIMACY; MATERNAL AGE; MIDDLE AGED; MORALS; MOTIVATION; POSTMENOPAUSE; PREGNANCY; ROMANIA;

EID: 34548416797     PISSN: 02699702     EISSN: 14678519     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8519.2007.00583.x     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (11)

1. th of December 2006, a 67 years old Spanish woman gave birth to twins.
2. th of January 2005.
3. nd of February 2005.
4. According to a statement of the Association of Women from Romania (Asociaţia Femeilor din Romania) quoted in the media, 'we consider that the act of this woman [Adriana Iliescu] is selfish. The example set by her is temerarious, but it should remain an example only for women aged less than 45. (.) Each age has its physical force. Biologically, Adriana Iliescu does not have the necessary strength to raise and educate a child anymore. She has fulfilled a dream of hers and it is very good that the child she has is healthy. But we cannot encourage such practices' (Liliana Pagu, president of the association). According to the Foundation Equal Chances for Women (Fundaţia Şanse Egale pentru Femei), in the words of its director of public relations, '[w]omen have the rights to choose whether or not to have children. In what regards Adriana Iliescu, in our opinion, the child will develop two types of major frustrations: firstly, because of the fact that she comes from a mono-parental family and, secondly, this little girl will distinguish between the age of her mother and that of the other children's mothers, with which she will be in contact. The little girl will suffer dramatically because of this difference, and as such will need social assistance'. Both declarations quoted in the 'Gardianul' newspaper, under the title 'Asociaţiile de femei, împotriva naşterii la vârste înaintate' ('Women's associations, against the birth at advanced ages'). According to Aurora Liiceanu, writer and psychologist, 'any strategy related to maternity must be in the interest of the child, not in the interest of the parent. The child must be wanted by more than one person, and one must not offer children a frustrating environment, one does not have to think «I want a child» and that's it. (.) It is a typical case of selfishness'. As we can see these declarations combine all three objections (age, marital status, motivation).
5. S. Golombok. New families, old values: considerations regarding the welfare of the child. Human Reproduction 1998 13 : 2342 2347.
6. S. Golombok et al. Families Created by the New Reproductive Technologies: Quality of Parenting and Social and Emotional Development of the Children. Child Dev 1995 66 2 : 285 298 Chan, B. Raboy C.J. Patterson. Psychosocial Adjustment among Children Conceived via Donor Insemination by Lesbian and Heterosexual Mothers. Child Dev 1998 69 2 : 443 457.
7. Golombok 2000.
8. It is however possible to think also of laudable motivations, such as that you want to have children in order to be able to raise and educate responsible and happy persons who will contribute positively to existence.
9. Supererogation, a term of Latin origin ('super erogare'), characterizes acts which are morally good but usually not considered morally required, and was used in the biblical parable of the Good Samaritan. In the literature, there have been arguments according to which supererogation is always also a moral duty: this was argued for more as a duty to do our best to try to be saintly or heroic. Such is the argument of Christopher New, 'Saints, Heroes, and Utilitarians', apud Robin Attlefield, Supererogation and Double Standards, Mind (New Series), 1979; 88: 481-499), without that having to mean that supererogation equated morality. But it is clear that, although we praise supererogatory acts, they are not all we praise in morality. This does mean that by accepting this statement we are placing ourselves and the wide majority of individuals as always acting outside of the scope of morality.
10. I would say needs, as it is generally recognized that parenthood is an important human need, but this also has raised objections in our case.
11. In this regard, I recommend the reading of the 'Letter from a Post-menopausal Mother', by I. de Beaufort. 2000 [1998]. In The Future of Human Reproduction. Ethics, Choice, and Regulation. J. Harris & S. Holm, eds. Oxford: Clarendon Press: 238-247.