PHI 2207 - Reproductive Ethics

Credits: 4
There is no question that reproductive choices are deeply personal, private ones. Decisions about whether to have children, and how to raise them, reflect some of our most fundamental values. Progress in medicine and technology, as well as changes in society and culture, however, have increasingly drawn private decisions into the public eye. Developments in genetic engineering have given rise to questions about when, if ever, it is permissible to genetically enhance a developing infant. And projections of the effects of climate change give rise to concerns about whether it is permissible to continue to have children at all.

In this course, we will consider a variety of ethical issues at the intersection of public and private life. We will examine problems at every stage of having a child, from whether or not to genetically enhance children, to whether it is permissible to engage a surrogate, to what rights parents have over their children at all. We will work collaboratively to analyze the issues we face and learn to engage meaningfully with others. In doing so, we will enrich our understanding of the decisions we are faced with when having children, the social and cultural 11 factors which influence these decisions, and the ethical aspect of everyday decisions.
McDaniel Plan: Textual Analysis; Multicultural