Family-Making: Contemporary Ethical Challenges

In North America, 8% to 12% of couples experience infertility. A subset of these couples seek medical assistance to conceive, others pursue adoption (with or without having first tried assisted human reproduction), and still others choose (or accept) child-free living. In addition, assisted human reproduction and adoption are options for single people and people in non-heterosexual relationships where neither partner is infertile. Choosing between the contemporary options of having children through assisted reproduction or through adoption can be ethically very difficult. The ethical issues that arise in making the above choice are the subject of a book project "Family-making: Contemporary Ethical Challenges" with chapters authored by 17 internationally renowned scholars, six of whom are Canadian. The book editors are Françoise Baylis and Carolyn McLeod (both of whom are CIHR-funded researchers). A book contract has been signed with Oxford University Press, the terms of which include a meeting of all authors to evaluate draft manuscripts. The collaborative writing process for the book is as follows. All contributors will submit draft chapters to the editors in January 2012. These drafts will be pre-circulated to all contributors who will attend a face-to-face meeting in Halifax April 25-27, 2012. Authors will revise their chapters in light of the discussions. Next, the book editors and two other contributors will review revised chapters. A final book manuscript will be submitted to the publisher in the Fall of 2012. Consistent with CIHR objectives for dissemination events, the planned workshop will facilitate "dissemination and/or discussion of research findings" and the planned deliverable (i.e., the book with OUP) will contribute to the "education of patients, health professionals, policy-makers, and the general public". The book will also serve the goal of "knowledge dissemination that will inform practice, clinical care, policy and decision making."