Introduction
In the present day, technological development in medicine has allowed surrogacy to be more widespread, including forms such as gestational surrogacy and traditional surrogacy. Due to this reason, discussions over the ethics of surrogacy have become relevant, with various groups proclaiming their own opinion on the matter. The article by Deonandan deals with the problem of the ethics of surrogacy in the opinions of various groups and philosophies, including different religious groups, adoption standards, and Western liberal influences.
The Religions
A large part of the article is dedicated to the opinion of the religious groups. For the study, Deonandan deals with the most popular religions of the world. Despite what could have been stereotypically thought, the religions have vastly different views, even within themselves. For example, Catholicism deems in vitro fertilization an immoral sacrilege towards the ideal of motherhood, while other Christian confessions have other opinions (Deonandan, 2020). In Islam, the Shiaa and the Sunni sects have vastly different opinions (Deonandan, 2020). Judaism and Buddhism argue whether artificial insemination can be considered adultery (Deonandan, 2020). Finally, Hinduism has its specifics, paying attention to the caste of the donor.
The Secular Opinions
For secular opinions, Deonandan points out two categories: the common adoption standard and the Western liberal framework. The first view considers surrogacy as being valuable to vertical familial lineage, as well as defining parenting as being more socially important than biological ties (Deonandan, 2020). For Western liberalism, the focus is on an individual’s liberties and rights. It pays attention to a contracted agreement between the surrogate and the social parents, including the rights of the third and fourth parties (Deonandan, 2020). Deonandan finishes his study by pointing out that gestational surrogacy is considered preferable by many, as it provides biological ties for the social parents.
Conclusion
The article by Deonandan has shown that the matter of surrogacy is not just a dichotomy between conservative religious persons and progressive liberals. It proved that religious people may have drastically different levels of openness to the experience, while the doubts and specifics they have over the matter do not contradict each other. Non-religious persons have their doubts about surrogacy, which do not conflict with religious opinion either. Therefore, it may be concluded that the article by Deonandan is useful for an objective understanding of the problem of surrogacy.
Reference:
Deonandan, R. (2020). Thoughts on the ethics of gestational surrogacy: Perspectives from religions, Western Liberalism, and comparisons with adoption. Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, 37(2), 269–279.