The value of life and reproductive and professional autonomy

This paper considers John Harris’ work on autonomy, specifically reproductive autonomy, outlined in The Value of Life and developed throughout his career. Harris often used the concept of reproductive autonomy to make the case for liberal approaches to developments in reproductive and genetic technologies. Harris argued that reproductive autonomy should be highly valued, and therefore we need compelling arguments to justify limiting it in anyway. When discussing reproductive autonomy, Harris focussed mainly on restrictions on the potential users of reproductive technologies autonomy, i.e., prospective parents. This paper extends the discussion of autonomy and the appropriate limits to individuals exercising their autonomy to medical professionals working in this area. Given reproductive technologies have become part of routine medical practice, the paper considers whether the current restrictions on both patients and clinicians, as imposed by regulators and professional guidelines, remain ethically justified.

The paper will develop an argument that we need to be cautious about dismantling the regulatory protections provided by legislation in jurisdictions like the United Kingdom. While regulations could be changed to allow for the greater exercising of both reproductive and professional autonomy, there still needs to be careful oversight of reproductive technologies.