Parents Push Surrogate To Abort Fetus Because of Birth Defect

[jason]

Here's a case that pushes all kinds of ethical boundaries: a Canadian couple who discovered that their fetus was likely to have Down's Syndrome decided that they wanted to have an abortion. The practice of aborting fetuses because of birth defects is controversial enough, but to make matters even knottier, the fetus was being carried by a surrogate, who wanted to carry the pregnancy to term.

Under the agreement signed by the couple and the surrogate, this would mean that the parents were not legally responsible for raising the child. But the situation sparked a new debate over the potential need for government intervention and oversight in contracts between parents and the women who carry their children. Many ethicists feel strongly that the surrogate-parent relationship is too delicate to have contract law applied to it, saying that in such cases, the child becomes a product rather than a person.

Bioethicist Juliet Guichon explained, "Should the rules of commerce apply to the creation of children? No, because children get hurt. It's kind of like stopping the production line: ‘Oh, oh, there's a flaw.' It makes sense in a production scenario, but in reproduction it's a lot more problematic."

more Parents Push Surrogate To Abort Fetus Because of Birth Defect

 

[Kenny]

Well that's definitely a scenario you don't hear every day. I think the surrogate was in her rights to carry the baby to term and as long as she isn't asking the "parents" for money all should be fine.

 

[forgotten]

This is saddening. It reflects on ethics and morality and society. Why should the parents refuse a child just because he would have down syndrome? It is a child that they contracted to have!

 

[Salazar]

I was a bit surprised to read the rest of the article and find out that the surrogate finally decided to go ahead with the abortion. If she was against it, I wonder what changed her mind. Regardless, this is an ethical and moral disaster.

 

[Jeff]

The saddest part of this is that the baby may not have had a birth defect. My wife had testing done and they told us our child was probably going to be born with down syndrome. We would never dream of abortion. Our son is happy, healthy, and does not have Downs'.

 

[SeaUrchin]

That's a shame all the way around. None of us are perfect. I understand Down's children can be challenging sometimes to take care of but no more than any other child as far as I'm concerned. They are also some of the most lovable people on Earth. I would have taken the baby any day.