Procreation
Reproductive technologies have changed child-bearing in profound ways. Traditionally, deep emotional bonds have joined a man and a woman in sexual bonds of love to give birth and form a family. However, sexual procreation is being increasingly replaced with baby making as a commercial production that we undertake with doctors and specialists.1.
New family forms
Beginning in the 1960's, social movements which accepted and encouraged new sexual and family behaviors played into the rapid commercialization of reproduction. Single parenting, divorce, planned parenthood, abortion, the normalization of homosexuality, the decline of legal and moral support for marriage, liberalized sexuality, and female postponement of child bearing for education and career were creating social support for the movement of society away from reproduction through procreation toward reproduction through scientific and commercial production.
The expanding market of production
By 2003, procedures of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) accounted for 1% of the live births in the U. S. (and 18% of the multiple births). 2. By 2004, making babies had developed into a three billion dollar business.3. Expanding the market is of primary concern in business ventures.
Questions are raised
Advances in reproductive technologies challenge our sexual and family relationships, our human freedom and dignity, and our ethical and religious foundations. Many ethical and legal questions are raised by these new technologies. 4.
* How far should commerce and reproduction mix?
* Are the rights of children of the new biology being ignored?
* What is it doing to the way we think about ourselves, each other, and our children?
Reproductive technology and genetic engineering are destabilizing our procreative foundation and even threatening new forms of reproductive control. Our beliefs about parenthood, kinship and personhood are being brought into crises as our cultural definitions of relatives and kinship ties are redefined.
Brave new biotech world
The new millenium moved us solidly into a brave new world when the human genetic code was cracked in the year 2000, outlining the biochemical recipe, encoded in our DNA, for manufacturing and operating a complete human being. 5.
Eric Lander, of the Mass. Institute of Technology Center for Genome Research at Whitehead, outlined social dangers. 6.
1. Our privacy will be jeopardized because there will be temptation to pry into other's genomes.
2. Genetic determinism will oversimplify our expectations of behavior.
3. Once you see humans as a product of manufacture you cross a line, raising the greatest danger.
The new bio-industrial world
Commerce in genetic materials is fashioning a bio-industrial world that raises more troubling issues than any other economic revolution in history. 7. Well-credentialed and well-financed researchers propose the complete restructing of human life in the construction of a genetic super race. Many of these scientists have a financial stake in the commercial corporations that promote reproductive technologies, serving as advisors or sitting on boards of directors.8
Government response to ART
In 2004, The President's Council on Bioethics called for information gathering, monitoring, and reporting of the uses and effects of ART with special concern for increased consumer protection in regard to the health and development of children born with ART and the health and well-being of women who use these services. 9. Dr. Leon Kass, the former chair of the Council on Bioethics says, "There is a need for boundaries and oversight in areas of deep public disagreement." 10.
References:
1. Howard, Agnes. R. 2006. "In Moral Labor". First Things. March, No.161:9.
2. Wright, Victoria Clay, Jeani Chang, Gary Jeng and Maurizio Macaluso, 2006. "Assisted
Reproductive Technology Surveillance - United States, 2003." Center for Disease Control,
MMWR Surveillance Summaries: May 26,/55(SSo4):1-22.
3. Spar, Debora L. 2006. The Baby Business: How Money, Science, and Politics Drive the
Commerce of Conception. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
4. McNulty, Timothy J. 1987. "Ethics of Babymaking". Bryan-College Station Eagle. Sunday,
August 30: 1 E.
5. Lemonick, Michael D. 2000. "Gene Mapper" Time. Vol. 156, No. 26. December 25:110.
6. Golden, Frederic and Michael D. Lemonick. 2000. "The Race is Over". Time. Vol. 156,
No.1 . July, 3:22.
7. Rifkin, Jeremy. 1998. "God in a Labcoat: Can we control the biotech revolution before it
controls us?" The Foundation on Economic Trends. Utne Reader. May-June: pp. 66-71,
106-108.
8. Howard, Ted and Jeremy Rifkin. 1977. Who Should Play God? The Artificial Creation
of Life and What it Means for the Future of the Human Race. Center for Urban
Education.
9. The President's Council on Bioethics, March 2004. "Reproduction and Responsibility: The
Regulation of New Biotechnologies."
http://bioethicsprint.bioethics.gov/reports/reproductionandresponsibility/chapter10.html.
10. Kass, Leon R. 2004. "Reproduction and Responsibility" The Wall Street Journal. April 1:
Opinion Page.
These concerns were presented in a 23 page paper entitled:
Who's Rocking the Cradle? From Procreation to Production
Presented at the 2007 Southwestern Sociological Association Meetings
March 15-17, 2007 in Albuquerque, NM
The paper can be accessed on the internet at my website: http://www.wrestlingwithangels.com/
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Tragic Statistics! Wake up and smell the coffee!
On March 11, 2008 researchers at the federal Center for Disease Control announced that 1 in 4 teen girls has at least one sexually transmitted diseases (STD's). The virus that causes cervical cancer, the human papilloma virus, was the most common, affecting 18% of the 838 girls studied. Chlamydia, the second most common, affecting 4% of the sample, can cause infertility. Nearly half of black teens had one or more STD's, while 20% of white and Mexican American teens were affected. 1.
Sexual temptation is ripping the soul out of our American culture, our children's lives, and our families. As we are bombarded with sexual images, our culture is giving us a license to lust. Little is being said about the tragic consequences of behaviors once considered immoral, even sinful.
Casual sexual behaviors presented as acceptable by Hollywood, television, the press and even our universities and schools have become the dominant force in our society. Young people are being drawn into early and promiscuous sexual relationships.
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING TRAGIC STATISTICS
Abortions:
In the wake of Roe v. Wade in 1973 more than 45 million abortions were performed in the United States by the year 2000. 2.
81% of abortions are to unmarried women
52% are to women younger than 25 years of age
19% are to teens
Out-of-wedlock births:
In 1960, 4% of births were to unmarried women. By 2005 out-of-wedlock births accounted for 37% of the babies born in the United States. 3.
Fatherless homes:
40% or more of children are being raised without a father present in the home. Fatherhood is the most socializing and civilizing role for men. With the increase in out-of-wedlock childbirth and the increase in divorce many men are being left out of this important social function. 4.
Deterioration of child well-being:
Key indicators point toward the deterioration of child well-being, including: rates of delinquency and crime; suicide; depresssion; growing number of children in poverty; and drug and alcohol abuse. The most fundamental factor contributing to the deteriorating well-being of children is the weakening of marriage as an institution. 5.
An epidemic of sexually trasmitted diseases has resulted from the increasing prevalence of casual and non-monogamous sexual behaviors.
3 million new cases of chlamydia occur annually in the U.S. Usually occurring without symptoms, chlamydia can lead to infertility, tubal pregnancies and increased risk of HIV infections. 6.
5.5 million people become infected with the human papilloma virus each year. Cervical cancer, penile cancer and anal cancer are attributed to this virus. 7.
Gonorrhea is the 2nd most commonly reported STD in the U.S. Gonorrhea rates for 15-19 year old women are the highest rates compared to other age or sex groups. These infections are a major cause of pelvic inflammatory disease which can lead to infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and chronic pelvic pain. 8.
Syphilis rates in the U.S. that had significantly decreased in the 1990's, increased between 2001 and 2006, primarily among men. Syphilis rates attributed to men having sex with men increased from 4% in 2000 to 62% in 2004. 9.
7
By 1998 AIDS was the fifth leading cause of death for people ages 25-44.
The first cases were reported in the U.S. in 1981 in the homosexual community. 77% of those affected with AIDS are male. Bisexual behaviors have transferred the disease to the heterosexual community. 10.
The cumulative estimated deaths of persons with AIDS in the U.S. in 2005 was 530,307.
A male teen entering the homosexual lifestyle today has a 50% chance of getting AIDS by the age of fifty. 11.
Shame On Us!
Our parents and grandparents would have made a public outcry to the sexual portrayals assaulting us. Today we are silent!
Our silence and failure to challenge destructive behaviors provide no defense or support for young people that could help them protect their sexuality for a loving family.
Shame on us!
References:
1. The Associated Press. Tuesday, March 11, 2008.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23574940/print/1/displaymode/1098.
2. Center for Disease Control - Abortion Surveillance - US, 2000.
3. Associated Press. Nov. 21, 2006. MSNBC.com
4. David Blankenhorn. Fatherlessless in America. NY:Harper Perennial. 1996.
5. Marriage in America: A Report to the Nation. Council on Families. 1995.
6. Center for Disease Control. STD Prevention Press release. Dec. 5, 2000.
7. Ibid
8 . Center for Disease Control. STD Surveillance 2006. http.www.cdc.gov/STD/stats/syphilis.htm. Jan 2,
2008
9. Ibid
10. Center for Disease Control, April 2004; June 28, 2007.
11. Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "Gay Culture" : NYTimes 23, 1997, section 4, page 1.
Sexual temptation is ripping the soul out of our American culture, our children's lives, and our families. As we are bombarded with sexual images, our culture is giving us a license to lust. Little is being said about the tragic consequences of behaviors once considered immoral, even sinful.
Casual sexual behaviors presented as acceptable by Hollywood, television, the press and even our universities and schools have become the dominant force in our society. Young people are being drawn into early and promiscuous sexual relationships.
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING TRAGIC STATISTICS
Abortions:
In the wake of Roe v. Wade in 1973 more than 45 million abortions were performed in the United States by the year 2000. 2.
81% of abortions are to unmarried women
52% are to women younger than 25 years of age
19% are to teens
Out-of-wedlock births:
In 1960, 4% of births were to unmarried women. By 2005 out-of-wedlock births accounted for 37% of the babies born in the United States. 3.
Fatherless homes:
40% or more of children are being raised without a father present in the home. Fatherhood is the most socializing and civilizing role for men. With the increase in out-of-wedlock childbirth and the increase in divorce many men are being left out of this important social function. 4.
Deterioration of child well-being:
Key indicators point toward the deterioration of child well-being, including: rates of delinquency and crime; suicide; depresssion; growing number of children in poverty; and drug and alcohol abuse. The most fundamental factor contributing to the deteriorating well-being of children is the weakening of marriage as an institution. 5.
An epidemic of sexually trasmitted diseases has resulted from the increasing prevalence of casual and non-monogamous sexual behaviors.
3 million new cases of chlamydia occur annually in the U.S. Usually occurring without symptoms, chlamydia can lead to infertility, tubal pregnancies and increased risk of HIV infections. 6.
5.5 million people become infected with the human papilloma virus each year. Cervical cancer, penile cancer and anal cancer are attributed to this virus. 7.
Gonorrhea is the 2nd most commonly reported STD in the U.S. Gonorrhea rates for 15-19 year old women are the highest rates compared to other age or sex groups. These infections are a major cause of pelvic inflammatory disease which can lead to infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and chronic pelvic pain. 8.
Syphilis rates in the U.S. that had significantly decreased in the 1990's, increased between 2001 and 2006, primarily among men. Syphilis rates attributed to men having sex with men increased from 4% in 2000 to 62% in 2004. 9.
7
By 1998 AIDS was the fifth leading cause of death for people ages 25-44.
The first cases were reported in the U.S. in 1981 in the homosexual community. 77% of those affected with AIDS are male. Bisexual behaviors have transferred the disease to the heterosexual community. 10.
The cumulative estimated deaths of persons with AIDS in the U.S. in 2005 was 530,307.
A male teen entering the homosexual lifestyle today has a 50% chance of getting AIDS by the age of fifty. 11.
Shame On Us!
Our parents and grandparents would have made a public outcry to the sexual portrayals assaulting us. Today we are silent!
Our silence and failure to challenge destructive behaviors provide no defense or support for young people that could help them protect their sexuality for a loving family.
Shame on us!
References:
1. The Associated Press. Tuesday, March 11, 2008.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23574940/print/1/displaymode/1098.
2. Center for Disease Control - Abortion Surveillance - US, 2000.
3. Associated Press. Nov. 21, 2006. MSNBC.com
4. David Blankenhorn. Fatherlessless in America. NY:Harper Perennial. 1996.
5. Marriage in America: A Report to the Nation. Council on Families. 1995.
6. Center for Disease Control. STD Prevention Press release. Dec. 5, 2000.
7. Ibid
8 . Center for Disease Control. STD Surveillance 2006. http.www.cdc.gov/STD/stats/syphilis.htm. Jan 2,
2008
9. Ibid
10. Center for Disease Control, April 2004; June 28, 2007.
11. Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "Gay Culture" : NYTimes 23, 1997, section 4, page 1.
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