RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Having a child together in lesbian families: combining gestation and genetics
JF Journal of Medical Ethics
JO J Med Ethics
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics
SP 253
OP 255
DO 10.1136/medethics-2015-103007
VO 42
IS 4
A1 Guido Pennings
YR 2016
UL http://jme.bmj.com/content/42/4/253.abstract
AB The increasing acceptance of lesbian couples in medically assisted reproduction has led to new, unusual requests. This paper discusses the request for egg transfer from one partner to the other. In the first part, different analogies (egg donation, embryo donation, surrogacy and mitochondrial replacement) are made in order to find out whether one of these can help us determine whether this procedure is acceptable. It is shown that there are major difficulties with all analogies. In the second part, two balances are developed between the medical risks and costs of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intrauterine insemination on the one hand and the medical risks of IVF and the psychosocial benefits on the other hand. The final conclusion is that the disadvantages of the procedure can be compensated by the psychosocial advantages and thus can be accepted.