Avant-propos - Studia Moralia

124 JOHN BERKMAN
lowing DV would have at least a prima facie basis for providing
these cryopreserved embryos with an opportunity to be gestated
and given birth to by morally acceptable means.
But there have also been a number of arguments put forward
claiming that embryo adoption is wrong in principle.
Interestingly, all of those who raise these objections acknowledge
that the embryos are in fact worthy of protection. The
objections are that, for one reason or another, a woman cannot
agree to gestate an (abandoned) embryo without consenting to
an action that is morally wrong in principle. We will consider
three arguments as to the nature of this wrong, namely, that it
requires the woman (or the couple) to a) become a surrogate
mother, b) sin against the virtue of chastity, or c) continue participation
in the wrongfulness of IVF.
(i) Is Embryo Adoption a Form of Surrogacy?
While surrogacy is as old as Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, and
has undoubtedly been a part of many cultures, it is at least today
perceived as an affront both to the dignity of the surrogate, and
to the best interests of the child. In order to evaluate whether
embryo adoption is a form of surrogacy, we must understand
what, morally speaking, constitutes surrogate motherhood.
Donum vitae provides a precise definition, claiming that either
of the following two scenarios constitutes surrogate motherhood:
a) the woman who carries in pregnancy an embryo implanted
in her uterus and who is genetically a stranger to the embryo
because it has been obtained through the union of the gametes of
“donors.” She carries the pregnancy with a pledge to surrender the
baby once it is born to the party who commissioned or made the
agreement for the pregnancy.
b) the woman who carries in pregnancy an embryo to whose
procreation she has contributed the donation of her own ovum,
must also be defended in its integrity, tended and cared for, to the extent possible,
in the same way as any other human being as far as medical assistance
is concerned.”