Description
Co-convening the Conference stream 'Disruptive technologies: reproduction, genetics, and the family'A number of technologies (both existing and developing) such as extra-corporeal gestation/ectogenesis (ExCG), genome editing, in vitro gametogenesis (IVG), and direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTCGT), have the potential to profoundly disrupt established social practices linked to human reproduction and parenting, as well as concepts of relatedness and the family.
Such technologies may prove disruptive in various ways. In a narrow sense, for example, new and emerging technologies such as ExCG, genome editing and IVG may supersede existing methods of creating human beings, bringing about the ‘obsolescence of sex’ for reproductive purposes, and replacing sexual reproduction with biotechnological routes to parenthood. In a wider sense, existing notions of ‘family’ and ‘parent’ might be changed, displaced or rendered redundant, and social norms governing personal and sexual relationships altered by the decentring of the biological reproductive family. Similarly, in providing individuals with unprecedented detail about their own genetic profile and (potentially) those of their relatives, the increasing use of DTCGT raises questions regarding privacy and the family, such as how, when and with whom genetic information may be shared.
Better understanding of the cultural, ethical and socio-legal issues that disruptive technologies raise is important given their impact on the ethical landscape and the challenges they pose for regulation, family identities and society more broadly. We therefore invite papers focused on these matters.
| Period | 4 Apr 2023 → 6 Apr 2023 |
|---|---|
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Derry/Londonderry, United KingdomShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |