Saviour Siblings: A Relational Approach to the Welfare of the Child in Selective Reproduction (Biomedical Law and Ethics Library) - Softcover

"Taylor-Sands’ analysis of the issues and her call for regulation which is more sophisticated than the individualised approach common in discussion of the issues is a breath of fresh air. Saviour Siblings is a most impressive piece of medico-legal scholarship. It is tightly and thoughtfully written. It is the most important contribution thus far on the issue and will be an important reference point on the topic for some time to come. This is particularly important as every indication is that technological advances will result in selective reproduction becoming an increasingly significant and available option and, accordingly, there wil be a need for both a moral compass and a viable regulatory scheme in respect of such decision-making. Taylor-Sands’ Saviour Siblings takes the debate on these issues forward in a logical, empathic and constructive direction."

Ian Freckelton, Journal of Law and Medicine

Genetic screening technologies involving pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) raise particular issues about selective reproduction and the welfare of the child to be born. How does selection impact on the identity of the child who is born? Are children who are selected for a particular purpose harmed or treated as commodities? How far should the state interfere with parents' reproductive choices?

Currently, concerns about the welfare of the child in selective reproduction have focused on the individual interests of the child to be born. This book re-evaluates the welfare of the child through the controversial topic of saviour sibling selection. Drawing on relational feminist and communitarian ethics, Michelle Taylor-Sands argues that the welfare of the child to be born is inextricably linked with the welfare of his/her family. The author proposes a relational model for selective reproduction based on a broad conception of the welfare of the child that includes both individual and collective family interests. By comparing regulation in the UK and Australia, the book maps out how law and policy might support a relational model for saviour sibling selection.

With an interdisciplinary focus, Saviour Siblings: A Relational Approach to the Welfare of the Child in Selective Reproduction will be of particular interest to academics and students of bioethics and law as well as practitioners and policymakers concerned with the ethics of selective reproduction.