The Ethics of Human Reproduction and the Family

Individual and Collective Interests

Dr Daniela Cutas editor Anna Smajdor editor Dr Kristien Hens editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Published:29th Oct '26

£85.00

Supplier delay - available to order, but may take longer than usual.

The Ethics of Human Reproduction and the Family cover

This is the first book-length volume on the ethics of intra-familial reproduction, exploring cutting-edge debates and developments in reproductive science and their impact on how we conceptualize kinship.

This open access book explores the interplay between individual and collective procreative interests against the background of cutting-edge developments in reproductive science.

Reproductive technologies have made possible a range of novel practices that challenge some of our most fundamental assumptions about parenthood and the family. Gametes have been collected from dying or deceased individuals to enable their spouses or parents to create children. Children have undergone invasive fertility preservation interventions at their parents’ request. Mothers have donated their wombs to their daughters. Meanwhile, new scientific discoveries in epigenetics and microbiomics are reshaping our understanding of biological connections.

The Ethics of Human Reproduction and the Family brings together philosophers and social scientists to examine these challenges. Contributors explore, among others, the ethics of posthumous reproduction, uterus transplantation, intrafamilial adoption, conflicts between women’s interests and state policies, and the implications of postgenomic science for genetic and social kinship.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Foundation.

This is a timely contribution to a field where new ethical challenges surface as medicine rapidly progresses. The reader is introduced to a fascinating and sometimes frightening world where familiar notions are turned upside down. What does it mean to be a mother, a father, a sibling and whose interests should take precedence when individuals, science and society together mould a brave new reproductive world? -- Torbjörn Tännsjö, Professor Emeritus of Practical Philosophy, Stockholm University
If you have ever wondered what it means to be a family, what the relation is between having children and reproduction, or what reproductive duties you have this is the book for you! It provides novel and interesting philosophical analyses of these issues but is still eminently readable. -- Søren Holm, Professor of Bioethics,University of Manchester, UK
Reproductive technologies are often debated in ethics and politics. But those discourses seldom link to critical analysis of cultural assumptions about family, sexuality, parenthood, procreation and gender. This book, edited by three stellar philosophers in the field, provides a much-needed addition to humanities and social science scholarship on human reproduction. -- Christian Munthe, professor of practical philosophy, University of Gothenburg
New reproductive technologies reshape forms of kinship while also reinforcing existing norms. This volume explores the tensions that arise when individual, familial, and institutional interests intersect. Bringing together diverse perspectives, it offers a nuanced and wide-ranging account of the challenges posed by evolving practices of reproduction and family formation. -- Giulia Cavaliere, Lecturer in Engaged Philosophy, UCL

ISBN: 9781350525160

Dimensions: 236mm x 156mm x 16mm

Weight: 420g

176 pages