Deck 4: The Ethical Challenges of the New Reproductive Technologies

Question 1

In defining an ethical position on new reproductive technology, the __________ for potential children and families should be considered.

Answer 1

common good

Question 2

The principle of do no harm or__________ is a primary moral consideration when addressing reproductive technologies.

Answer 2

nonmaleficence

Question 3

The family is the last remaining institution of where a people receive altruistic care just because of their __________. They cannot earn this care.

Answer 3

birth

Question 4

According to Dr. Callahan, __________ is rooted in one's immediate family and kinship networks.

Question 5

Selling one's ability to provide a baby for another person's desire for parenthood is ethically wrong because human beings cannot be means for other people's purpose. This statement is supported by Kant's view of __________

Question 6

Parent's selfless concern for children's well-being or __________ is a foundation for family survival.

Question 7

According to Dr. Callahan, adoption justifies ethical risks because it benefits __________ in need of a parent.

Question 8

An argument against selling sperm and eggs is that it is counter to the principle of__________.

Question 9

Kant would not support the reproductive business that pays for sperm and eggs because, in his theory, people cannot be used as a __________.

Question 10

A child created through reproductive technology (gourmet child) may face issues related to__________and rejection when he/she does not live up to expectations.

Question 11

Dr. Callahan stresses that ethical assessment is needed when innovation occurs in reproductive technology. Using principles of autonomy and justice, discuss two reasons why health care should address the ethical challenges in reproductive technology.

Question 12

List three ethics issues for young persons who sell their eggs or sperm so that others can have a baby.

Question 13

Dr. Callahan suggests that reproductive technologies should be grounded in concern for the good of the child. Give three reasons why this statement is ethical based on the principles of autonomy and justice.

Question 14

Which is true, according to Callahan, of how both the conservative and permissive approaches compare to each other as to evaluating alternative reproductive technology?

A) They both represent an equally inadequate and narrow focus.
B) Both approaches require a sexual act to be open to procreation.
C) Either approach is acceptable to guide reproductive technology.
D) Neither approach allows an individual to exercise procreative liberty.

Question 15

On what moral basis is a permissive stance toward individual-willed choices and the acceptance of market transaction held to be morally justifiable?

A) the moral requirement of an "act analysis"
B) a need to protect embryonic lives during assisted reproduction
C) an individual's right to privacy and autonomy
D) the preservation of biological integrity without artificial interference

Question 16

According to Callahan, why is a reproductive ethic based solely on private liberty or on preserving the biological integrity of each marital act of genital intercourse an inadequate approach to evaluating reproductive technology?

A) One must permit competent adult persons to exercise their reproductive rights at will, without interference.
B) Mastery of biological nature only through natural processes is an essential characteristic of the human species.
C) Morally there should be no separation between sexual acts merely for pleasure and sexual acts resulting in procreation.
D) Humans are both biologically evolved creatures and socially embedded rational persons living within overlapping cycles of familial cultures.

Question 17

Which of the following is true regarding the unrestricted use of new technologies and the most compelling reason for prudent and ethical assessment of its consequences?

A) Technological innovation is considered neutral and value-free.
B) Immediate advantages should outweigh long-term side effects of technology.
C) Many well-meaning technologies have inadvertently produced unforeseen harm.
D) Artificial control of nature will result in producing oppressive control over others.

Question 18

A married couple is considering using alternative reproductive technology. They are discussing the potential outcomes and where they stand ethically. Which of the following should they ultimately ground their ethical position on?

A) What will benefit the various individuals involved as well as the common good.
B) Which method will most likely be the most cost-effective solution to their situation.
C) How their experiences might further the innovation of reproductive technology.
D) Where do they place their individual priorities as compared to that of society.

Question 19

A man and a woman are considering invitro fertilization as an option for conceiving a child together. If a conflict of interest regarding ethical positions on reproductive technology arises, which of the following should the potential parents be prepared to give the most consideration to?

A) the moral standards of the parents' society
B) the individual genetic parents and their families
C) the values each prospective parent ascribes to
D) the nascent human life of the potential child

Question 20

Which of the following best represents the central moral obligation of humanity toward children?

A) Biological diversity is necessary for the advancement of a society.
B) Society requires parents to provide protection for a child.
C) Education is the key to the development of a society.
D) Children and essential for society to survive and flourish.

Question 21

How can the ethics of child adoption be compared to the ethical justification for taking risks and trying new assisted reproductive technologies?

A) The psychological intent and social commitment of genetic parents is greater than those of non-biological parents in the case of adoption.
B) Innovative infertility treatments that break genetic ties can be just as successful as the socially and legally accepted practice of child adoption.
C) Adoption is an ancient and widespread practice, the same as assisted reproductive technology is long-standing and socially accepted.
D) New infertility treatments are just an extension of the concept of adoption since both require the same social commitment from parents.

Question 22

Which of the following ethical standards would be proposed by Callahan with the aim of safeguarding the well-being of a potential child, individual parents, family structures, and positive moral values of society?

A) It is ethically permissible to use an alternative reproductive technology if it makes it possible for a socially adequate, married heterosexual couple to have a child that the couple would normally expect to have but cannot because of infertility.
B) Professionals should consider alternative reproductive technology as morally responsible only if it is medically safe for the individual women and men involved in creating the nascent life, regardless of the outcome of the potential child.
C) The prevailing religious values of a society should dictate the ethical considerations of both the individual parents, family arrangements and methods of conceptions, whether natural or artificial, to be considered morally responsible.
D) An alternative reproductive technology is ethically responsible for use by qualified professionals that aim to do no harm to the potential life of a child and allow for the genetic mother's autonomy to be preserved.

Question 23

Although infertility is not classifiable as a disease and is never life-threatening, which of the following is true regarding its consequences?

A) Infertility prevents a married couple for living a worthwhile, happy life.
B) One's masculinity or femininity is greatly enhanced by producing a child.
C) Infertility can cause intense suffering and be a dysfunction of normal life.
D) A couple's desire to procreate cannot be fulfilled by reproductive technology.

Question 24

According to Callahan, which of the following is the most troubling thing that proponents of third-party donors in alternative reproduction often ignore?

A) Individuals live out their lives within complex familial ecologic systems.
B) What happens after the conception, production, and procurement of a baby.
C) Why and how one gets a baby they desire makes no difference in the long run.
D) Single men and women or homosexual couples deserve reproductive opportunities.

Question 25

Which of the following types of families would Callahan argue produce the most biological and cultural advantages for its immediate and extended members?

A) a committed man and woman that are willing to raise either their genetically own or an adopted child
B) parents, either genetically or legally bound to a child, that provide both physically and emotionally
C) two married heterosexual parents who also are the genetic, gestational, and rearing parents
D) either married heterosexuals, single men and women, or homosexual couples that desire a child

Question 26

From an evolutionary point of view, which of the following examples of a family structure provides the most protection, defense, and complex long-term nurture and socialization of an offspring?

A) a sea turtle that lays its eggs deep down in the sand
B) a common garter snake that gives birth to live young
C) a salmon that returns to its birthplace to reproduce
D) a chimpanzee that carries around its infant in the forest

Question 27

Which of the following best describes the trend in Western cultural family ideals?

A) The family arrangement has become less patriarchal as societies recognize the equal moral worth and rights of family members.
B) Families strive to simply maintain law, order, and stable continuity as their primary goal.
C) Men and women make a commitment to procreate and provide a stable environment for any future offspring.
D) Cultural norms include biological realities that produce altruistic bonds between generations.

Question 28

Why can it be said that extended family is important for family life for both practical and psychological reasons?

A) A reproductive couple and its children exist as a unit outside of siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.
B) Individual identity is rooted in biologically based descent and cooperative kinship networks within larger social groups.
C) An extended family helps children achieve the provision of unconditional altruistic care despite status ascribed by birth.
D) Human beings exist within a family's cultural envelope that is dictated by evolutionary biology and societal norms.

Question 29

What does the Whitehead-Stern court dispute most accurately demonstrate about the importance of role of the family structure in alternative reproductive technology?

A) the divisive chaos and suffering that is possible in third-party surrogate arrangements
B) that a homosexual couple cannot handle the responsibilities of parenthood
C) an unmarried woman alone does not have the kinship structure to raise a child
D) unforeseen disagreements between an unmarried heterosexual couple arise

Question 30

Which of the following is most distressing about the burgeoning enterprise of egg donation, according to Callahan?

A) the development of the nascent embryo
B) financial burdens of clients looking for a deal
C) the physiologic health of women donors
D) advertisement to lure in unsuspecting women

Question 31

A married couple is unable to conceive on their own. The wife's younger single sister freely volunteers to donate a viable egg to the couple. What difficulty might Callahan have with this seemingly altruistic arrangement?

A) This self-sacrifice is being directed to fulfill the desires of the adult parents, not of the child who will be born.
B) A member of the extended family should not feel obligated to fill the role nature has designated for a biological parent.
C) The younger sister is not married; therefore, this violates the moral principle that only heterosexual married couples should conceive a child.
D) No financial responsibility is being taken for the inevitable discomfort from invasive procedures or powerful drugs the donor will need to receive.

Question 32

What is the inevitable result of commercialization of reproduction, which is governed by contract and the purchase of body parts and functions?

A) legitimization of genetic kinship occurs
B) familial culture becomes fragmented and alienated
C) experimentation off innovative technology suffers
D) individual self-worth exponentially declines

Question 33

Which of the following is Callahan likely to conclude regarding the ethics of sexuality and reproduction?

A) Sexual activity is only acceptable for the purpose of procreation, therefore any other goal would be considered exploitation.
B) A person's reproductive capacities should be used for procreation that satisfies the desires of consenting adults to have offspring to raise.
C) A surrogacy arrangement is acceptable if the gestational mother is compensated financially for her hardships.
D) Lust is morally wrong outside of committed loving relationships because it disregards the whole person in the pursuit of sensual gratification.

Question 34

In most cases, an egg or sperm donor contracts to include future interactions with a potential offspring.