Saviour Siblings Genetic screening technologies involving pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) raise important questions about selective reproduction and the welfare of the child to be born. How does selection impact on the identity of the child who is born? Are children who are selected for a particular purpose harmed or treated as commodities? How far should the state interfere with parents’ reproductive choices? Currently, concerns about the welfare of the child in selective reproduction have focused on the individual interests of the child to be born. This book re-evaluates the welfare of the child through the controversial topic of saviour sibling selection. Drawing on relational feminist and communitarian ethics, Michelle Taylor-Sands argues that the welfare of the child to be born is inextricably linked with the welfare of his or her family. The author proposes a relational model for selective reproduction based on a broad conception of the welfare of the child that includes both individual and collective family interests. By comparing regulation in the UK and Australia, the book maps out how law and policy might support a relational model for saviour sibling selection. With an interdisciplinary focus, Saviour Siblings: A Relational Approach to the Welfare of the Child in Selective Reproduction will be of particular interest to academics and students of bioethics and law, as well as practitioners and policymakers concerned with the ethics of selective reproduction. Michelle Taylor-Sands is a Senior Lecturer at the Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne and has advised the Victoria government on assisted reproductive treatment. Michelle has published in the field of saviour sibling selection and the welfare of the child to be born. Biomedical Law and Ethics Library Series Editor: Sheila A. M. McLean Scientificandclinicaladvances,socialandpoliticaldevelopmentsandtheimpact ofhealthcareonourlivesraiseprofoundethicalandlegalquestions. Medicallaw and ethics have become central to our understanding of these problems, and are importanttoolsfortheanalysisandresolutionofproblems–real or imagined. In thisseries, scholars at the forefrontof biomedicallawandethics contribute to the debates in this area, with accessible, thought-provoking, and some- times controversial, ideas. Each book in the series develops an independent hypothesis and argues cogently for a particular position. One of the major contributions of this series is the extent to which both law and ethics are utilised in the content of the books, and the shape of the series itself. The books in this series are analytical, with a key target audience of lawyers, doctors, nurses, and the intelligent lay public. Available titles: Human Fertilisation and The Harm Paradox Embryology Tort law and the unwanted child in Reproducing regulation an era of choice Kirsty Horsey & Hazel Biggs Nicolette Priaulx Intention and Causation in Assisted Dying Medical Non-killing Reflections on the Need for Law The impact of criminal law concepts Reform on euthanasia and assisted suicide Sheila McLean Glenys Williams Medicine, Malpractice and Impairment and Disability Misapprehensions Law and Ethics at the Beginning V.H. Harpwood and End of Life Sheila McLean & Laura Williamson Euthanasia, Ethics and the Law From the conflict to compromise Bioethics and the Humanities Richard Huxtable Attitudes and Perceptions Robin Downie & Jane Macnaughton The Best Interests of the Child in Healthcare DefendingtheGenetic Sarah Elliston Supermarket The law and ethics of selection the Values in Medicine next generation Whatarewereallydoingtopatients? Colin Gavagham Donald Evans Autonomy, Consent and the Law Human Population Genetic Sheila A.M McLean Research in Developing Countries HealthcareResearchEthicsandLaw The Issue of Group Protection Regulation, review and responsibility Yue Wang Hazel Biggs Coercive Care The Body in Bioethics Rights, law and policy Alastair V. Campbell Bernadette McSherry & Ian Freckelton Genomic Negligence Saviour Siblings An interest in autonomy as the basis A relational approach to the for novel negligence claims welfare of the child in selective generated by genetic technology reproduction Victoria Chico Michelle Taylor-Sands Health Professionals and Trust Forthcoming titles include: Thecureforhealthcarelawandpolicy Mark Henaghan Human Population Genetic Research in Developing Medical Ethics in China Countries A transcultural interpretation The issue of group protection Jing-Bao Nie Yue Wang Law, Ethics and Compromise at Stem Cell Research and the the Limits of Life Collaborative Regulation of To treat or not to treat? Innovation Richard Huxtable Sarah Devaney Regulating Pre-Implantation The Jurisprudence of Pregnancy Genetic Diagnosis Concepts of conflict, persons and Acomparativeandtheoreticalanalysis property Sheila A.M McLean & Sarah Elliston Mary Neal Bioethics Regulating Risk Methods, theories, domains Values in health research governance Marcus Düwell Shawn Harmon About the Series Editor Professor Sheila McLean is International Bar Association Professor of Law and EthicsinMedicineandDirectoroftheInstituteofLawandEthicsinMedicineat the University of Glasgow. This page intentionally left blank Saviour Siblings A Relational Approach to the Welfare of the Child in Selective Reproduction Michelle Taylor-Sands Firstpublished2013 byRoutledge 2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,Oxon,OX144RN AndbyRoutledge 711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017 RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness ©2013MichelleTaylor-Sands TherightofMichelleTaylor-Sandstobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhasbeen assertedbyherinaccordancewithsections77and78oftheCopyright,Designs andPatentsAct1988. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedorutilised inanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,nowknownor hereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinanyinformation storageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublishers. Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksorregistered trademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationandexplanationwithoutintentto infringe. BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData Taylor-Sands,Michelle. Savioursiblings:arelationalapproachtothewelfareofthechildinselective reproduction/MichelleTaylor-Sands. pagescm.--(Biomedicallawandethicslibrary) Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN978-0-415-53571-7(hbk:alk.paper)--ISBN978-0-203-70870-5 (ebk:alk.paper)1.Procurementoforgans,tissues,etc.--Lawandlegislation. 2.Preimplantationgeneticdiagnosis--Lawandlegislation.3.Humanreproductive technology--Moralandethicalaspects.4.Humanreproductivetechnology--Law andlegislation.5.Fertilizationinvitro,Human--Lawandlegislation.6.Brothers andsisters.7.Biomedicalethics.I.Title. K3611.T7T392013 176--dc23 2013009263 ISBN:978-0-415-53571-7(hbk) ISBN:978-0-203-70870-5(ebk) TypesetinGaramond byTaylor&FrancisBooks For my family, past and present This page intentionally left blank Contents Foreword xii Acknowledgements xviii List of abbreviations xx 1 Introduction 1 2 Selective reproduction: ethics and the law 6 2.1 Introduction 6 2.2 ‘Designer babies’ 7 2.2.1 Eugenics 8 2.2.2 Slippery slopes 9 2.3 Commodification 12 2.4 Harm 13 2.4.1 Risks of ART and embryo biopsy 14 2.4.2 Risks associated with particular types of selection 15 2.4.3 Better to be born than not 17 2.5 Case study: saviour siblings 20 2.5.1 The process 20 2.5.2 Regulation 21 2.5.3 Lessons from the UK and Australia 25 2.6 A relational approach to the welfare of the child 26 2.7 Conclusion 29 3 The welfare of the child to be born 40 3.1 Introduction 40 3.2 Welfare of the child in ART regulation 41 3.2.1 Origins of the welfare of the child provision in ART legislation 42 3.2.2 Review of the welfare of the child provision in the UK 43 3.2.3 Review of HFEA policy on the welfare of the child 44 3.2.4 Review of ART regulation in Victoria – a missed opportunity 46