Main Points
The article by Robertson (1994) looks deeply into the freedoms that human beings experience. According to the author, he notes that people have a fundamental freedom to reproduce or not. This right is referred to as procreative liberty which enables the individual to make a reproductive choice without interference from other people. In this regard, both reproductive freedom and procreative liberty are synonymous. Robertson (1994) identifies that there are two types of procreative liberty. On the one hand, it involves avoiding reproduction while on the other it is seen that an individual is free to procreate. Coital and noncoital technologies are also discussed in the article and how the reproduction rights are protected in the same.
Individual Arguments
The article discusses in-depth the concern of reproductive freedom whereby no one has the right to interfere with an individual’s desire to procreate or not. In this case, to avoid begetting or bearing offspring and the associated rearing demands is one aspect of practicing procreative liberty (Robertson, 1994). Abortion is part of this freedom hence it is a negative right against public or private interference. On the other hand, making a decision to bear children and engaging in activities that will eventuate in reproduction and also a negative. Noncoital reproductive techniques have been depicted as unethical due to the significant expense, technological character, decomposition of parenthood into genetic, possible effects on women and the offspring, as well as gestational and social components (Robertson, 1994).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Important Premises
It is evident that there is a major dispute on procreative liberty particularly in reference to new technologies as they bring about ethical and legal concerns. The first impression of procreative freedom will determine choices made in novel settings. Taking this liberty seriously will favor using technologies and implicate reproductive interests (Robertson, 1994). With the primary focus on the same procreative goals, a similar standard of scrutiny will be used to assess the moral and governmental restrictions on the novel ideas.
References
Robertson, J. A. (1994). “The Presumptive Primacy of Procreative Liberty,” In Children of Choice Freedom and the New Reproductive Liberties , Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
