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In defence of gestatelings: reply to Colgrove

In defence of gestatelings: reply to Colgrove
In defence of gestatelings: reply to Colgrove
Ectogestation—that is, ‘artificial’ or extramammalian pregnancy—may soon be within technological reach. This confronts us with questions about the correct moral and legal attitude towards the subjects of this technology, which are called ‘gestatelings’. Colgrove argues that gestatelings are a kind of newborn, and consequently should have the same moral and legal protections as newborns. This paper responds that both claims are unsupported by his arguments, which equivocate on two understandings of the term ‘newborn’. Questions about the appropriate moral and legal status of gestatelings are therefore (once again, and correctly) left unanswered, but in the course of attempting to answer them, we are well advised to continue using the term gestateling.
1473-4257
Kingma, Elselijn
24f1e065-3004-452c-868d-9aee3087bf63
Kingma, Elselijn
24f1e065-3004-452c-868d-9aee3087bf63

Kingma, Elselijn (2020) In defence of gestatelings: reply to Colgrove. Journal of Medical Ethics. (doi:10.1136/medethics-2020-106630).

Record type: Letter

Abstract

Ectogestation—that is, ‘artificial’ or extramammalian pregnancy—may soon be within technological reach. This confronts us with questions about the correct moral and legal attitude towards the subjects of this technology, which are called ‘gestatelings’. Colgrove argues that gestatelings are a kind of newborn, and consequently should have the same moral and legal protections as newborns. This paper responds that both claims are unsupported by his arguments, which equivocate on two understandings of the term ‘newborn’. Questions about the appropriate moral and legal status of gestatelings are therefore (once again, and correctly) left unanswered, but in the course of attempting to answer them, we are well advised to continue using the term gestateling.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 1 July 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 8 September 2020

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 446400
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/446400
ISSN: 1473-4257
PURE UUID: 0889b3b0-8bba-4471-a1cd-ef2f6188cf50

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Date deposited: 05 Feb 2021 17:33
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 10:28

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