Unit 9: What’s Motherhood Got to Do With It? (Rasika Tangutoori)

This week’s readings are both from Volume 25 of the Creighton Law Review and analyze different perspectives on reproductive technologies. “New Reproductive Technologies: Protestant Modes of Thought” by Gilbert Meilander is a review of the perspectives presented by various contemporary Protestant theological ethicists. On the other hand, “Reproductive Technologies and Surrogacy: A Feminist Perspective” is an opinion article by Barbara Rothman, who identifies as a feminist. Both readings specifically place an emphasis on the notion of surrogacy, religion as a guiding factor, and reflect many of the other readings/discussions we have had in class this semester.

“New Reproductive Technologies: Protestant Modes of Thought” by Gilbert Meilander

From the onset, Meilander admits that his article will not be all encompassing of the Protestant attitude towards reproductive technologies, especially because “there is no one ‘Protestantism’ (1637).” Hence, he presents the perspectives of six theological ethicists who analyze biblical themes and the duality of human nature. The search for guidance in the Bible reminded me a lot of our class discussion on Hinduism and the Mahabharata. Like Hinduism, since Protestantism has no single authority, people look to biblical stories to find answers to modern issues.

The first ethicist discussed, McDowell tries to “appeal to biblical passages and themes, attempting to cull from them some general direction and guidance (1638).” She concludes that the Bible emphasizes that priority in one’s life is first to God, and then to family and hence does not approve of surrogacy. She admits that though surrogate motherhood is compassionate, it is compassion gone too far and is not appropriate behavior particularly because God always comes first. O’Donnovan builds on this loyalty to God by stating “faith affirms that God has made us through human begetting (1644).” He argues that new reproductive technologies turn begetting into making and hence should not be allowed. Simmons also echoes this thought by saying that sexual intercourse is intimate and does not have to lead to childbearing. Hence, he supports planning for children and believes a child is a gift from God, so one should not mess with this divine process. I found it interesting though all the ethicists who looked to the Bible were against reproductive technologies, they all used different biblical themes as support. Meilander shows that this is a classic example within theological anthropology.

• Do you agree with these biblical themes and the conclusions made by the ethicists?
• Based off our class discussions, are these biblical stories or themes that support new reproductive technologies?

Meanwhile, the theological ethicists that focused on the duality of human nature disagreed on their conclusions. Smith and Ramsey both agree that humans are “finite and free,” but that new reproductive technologies are a destruction of humanity in a larger sense. Unlike Simmons, Smith claims that you cannot separate sex and reproduction and so technologies intervene in this process. His opinion is that “such techniques are within our power and are an expression of the marvelous freedom that characterizes human nature, they will, Smith judges, be destructive of the other, equally important, aspects of self (1640).” Ramsey goes further and believes that the duality of nature approach is also against IVF. He makes a powerful claim that “in turning against the basic form of humanity that is parenthood and that holds together the love-giving and life-giving dimensions of our nature, we are losing a sense of what is truly human (1641).” Ramsey believes that the technologies are dehumanizing from a Protestant perspective.

On the other hand, Fletcher believes that the most important aspect of being human is the right to being free and rational. He believes this is the main “victory of mankind” and thus cannot be violated. He thinks that kinship is a social construct and having children aren’t the greatest thing in the world. This comment on kinship got me thinking back to our very first class and how Fletcher is a clear example of the cultural constructionist approach. He does not believe kinship is rooted in blood relationships. Meilander opposes Fletcher’s opinions with the other ethicists and finally shares his own thoughts. He thinks that the evidence presented by Smith/Ramsey is much stronger than Fletcher’s and I agree. Meilander concludes that overall “it may still be that faith is most likely to give rise to understanding of what is truly human (1646).” I feel like this is the case in many cultures around the world and something I relate to personally. Though I don’t consider myself to be super religious, whenever I’m in a bad situation or I’m anxious about something, I turn to prayer. I believe in a higher power because life just doesn’t make sense sometimes. Never will everyone agree on what is truly human, and hence I agree that is when faith steps in.

• Do you agree with Smith/Ramsey or Fletcher on the duality of nature?
• Do you believe it is an inherent right for humans to be completely free? Is this right lost when humans do not act rationally?
• Has your definition of kinship changed over the course of the semester?

“Reproductive Technologies and Surrogacy: A Feminist Perspective” by Barbara Rothman

Rothman presents a narrative of how her perspective, a feminist stance, has developed over the ages. She begins by stating that feminists and religious leaders are both opposed to surrogacy, but makes it clear that feminists “are coming from a very different place, and we are going to a very different place (1599).” Rothman’s main strategy in her argument is to define words we commonly use and give hypothetical/example situations to prove her point. She believes that the feminist opposition to surrogacy stems from issues in the language we use and defining a woman’s place in society. She asserts, “when one analyzes the language used by members of society, the assumption of that society are often revealed (1604).”

Throughout her article, Rothman defines words like patriarchy, kinship, incest, genetics, inheritance, motherhood, pregnancy, and the sanctity of family. By define, I mean explains how these words are used in society and what effects they have. I found her explanations to be very compelling. Rothman clarifies that patriarchy used as a synonym for sexism or men’s rule is actually wrong and rather defines it as “system in which men rule as father (1600).” It is an old system within many societies that affects views of childbearing. Rothman uses the analogy of a child as a seed to explain how patriarchal values make it seem like the fathers have rights to the children and mothers are just vehicles for growth. Hence, surrogacy is considered fine under this system because the surrogate mother is just another vehicle. I found it interesting that Rothman made it all boil down to a power struggle as she said that men “maintain control of the seed” by maintaining control of women during pregnancy. She also references the Bible, and points out the terminology of “man described as having begotten his first-born son (1600).” Unlike O’Donnovan from Meilander’s article, Rothman focus not on the idea of begetting but who is said to have begotten. Both perspectives show the importance of begetting children and how it affects views on surrogacy.

Rothman’s use of analogies was also successful because they got me thinking outside of the box about the issues she presented. In describing the outcome of the famous Baby M case, she paints a hypothetical scenario of the same case with a man who has sex with an underage girl, sends her gifts, and claims custody. This is an interesting case because on either end how does one decide who has rights over a child when they are not half and half? It opens an entire new can of worms and Rothman argues that our society struggles with this issue mainly because of “the position women find themselves within out society (1603).” This parallels back to Ginsburg’s book last week that displayed that most women focus on advancing feminist ideals and their place in society as a reason for activism within the abortion debates.

Furthermore, Rothman also connects it back to kinship when discussing the issues of through surrogacy. Incest is a social construct as explained by Rothman, but it does also have a biological significance when considering genetic defects of the children. However, what exactly is considered incest is culture dependent and certain things are just considered distasteful, even when there is no direct genetic relatedness. She places this root of this issue on what constitutes relation as she points out “just because two children have the same father, the children are not really related (1601).” Hence, this reading depicts how our discussions from early on the semester about kinship and relatedness make up how reproductive technologies are viewed.

Rothman finally presents her perspective at the end of the reading by stating “we need to find a perspective as a society that does not discard the intimacy, nurturing, and growth that grows between generations, but a perspective that supports, develops, and encourages intimacy. We need to reject the very concept of surrogacy (1607).” She shows that from a woman’s standpoint every child is precious, genuinely her own, and limited. Hence, the loss of an actual baby in any sense is devastating and women should not be treated as a societal resource. It is impossible to find a uniform solution for every case, but regardless women should have choice in these endeavors despite societal undertones. However, Rothman does acknowledge how difficult of a task this is to accomplish given how deep-rooted these societal values, positions, and terms are.

• Can you think of other words we commonly use in society that could reveal assumptions about society?
• How do you define incest?
• How do you think surrogacy would be viewed in a matrilineal society?