• Ethics

Selective reproduction is an area where the law often lags behind the science. There is increasing pressure on governments to reconsider the ethical issues raised by selective reproductive technologies and regulate accordingly. Genetic screening technologies involving preimplantation genetic diagnosis raise important ethical questions about the welfare of the child to be born. Should parents be allowed to select a child with particular traits or characteristics? How does selection impact on the identity of the child who is born? Are children who are selected for a particular purpose harmed or treated as commodities? How far should the state interfere with reproductive choice?

To date, concerns about the welfare of the child in selective reproduction have focused on the individual interests of the child to be born. Saviour Siblings1 re-evaluates the welfare of the child through the controversial topic of saviour sibling selection using applied ethics. Drawing on relational feminist and communitarian ethics, I argue that the welfare of the child to be born is inextricably linked with the welfare of his/her family. I propose a new relational model for selective reproduction based on a broad conception of the welfare of …