RELG 2650 (final) Exam Questions and Answers
100% Pass
Describe Asch's position on the acceptability of abortion and prenatal genetic diagnosis.
Asch argues that women should have the option of
abortion so that they can be equal to man and be able to avoid the situation as well.
Outlawing abortion is a violation of women's autonomy (involuntary servitude)
We shouldn't abort for gender or disability (unless the disability will result in a very short life span).
Conscientious objection:
the ability to refuse an action or provide a procedure/ "treatment" if a physician believes it to be a
morally objectionable decision
Describe Dresser's 5 models for addressing conscientious objection & their strengths & weaknesses.
1. Contract Model
2. Duty to Refer
3. Entering Professionals Agree to Conform
4. Draft Board Approach
5. Professionals Seek Compromise
Contract Model
o At outset, professional discloses any limits of treatments.
o If a patient requires a service that is excluded, they can then go elsewhere.
o Weakness: does not work when patient needs quick care or no one else can take over and provide
the service.
Duty to Refer
o If the professional objects and will not provide a service, they have an obligation to refer or transfer
patients to another professional that will provide that service.
o Weakness: fails when the contract model fails.
o Weakness: some professionals will feel as if they are still committing wrong in facilitating the service
Entering Professionals Agree to Conform
o Conscientious objection is not allowed.
o If you enter into a profession, you have to conform to its basic standards. Thus you must perform
certain services.
o Weakness: "basic standards" are hard to define, and professionals may not feel as if they have truly
understood and assented to them.
Draft Board Approach
o Requires objectors to explain and defend their opposition to performing a certain service.
o Tries to separate sincere beliefs from those that have other motivations for avoiding a service.
o Weakness: damaging to morale of professionals.
o Weakness: cannot necessarily detect skilled liars.
o Weakness: such a detection process is hard to formulate and may be corrupt.
Professionals Seek Compromise
o Professional should try to find a compromise between their beliefs and the patient's interests.
,o Depends in large part on the hope that other alternatives will arise that keep both professional and
patient happy.
o Weakness: sometimes an option is not available.
o Weakness: compromise can leave both sides unsatisfied.
According to ACOG recommendations, under what conditions are conscientious refusals in
reproductive medicine acceptable?
1. Any refusal that conflicts with a patient's well being should be accommodated ONLY if the primary
duty to the patient can still be fulfilled.
2. health care providers must impart scientifically accurate and unbiased information
3. must provide patients with accurate and prior notice of their personal moral commitments - and
they should not argue/advocate for their positions
4. refer patients in a timely manner to other providers
5. in an emergency in which referral is not possible or might negatively affect a patient's physical
health, providers have obligation
to provide medically indicate and requested are regardless of their moral objections
6. in resource poor areas, access to safe and legal reproductive services should be maintained.
Explain Paul Lauritzen's feminist critique of reproductive technologies.
Paul Lauritzen, himself, experienced difficulties with infertility. He and his wife decided to hold off on
having children until they had established their careers, never expecting/planning on having these
difficulties. Lauritzen felt that he and his wife were mere items within an experiment and feel that
NRTs should only be used after extensive soul searching and as a last resort.
• He presents 4 arguments about NRTs:
i. The Tyranny of Technology
ii. Dismemberment of Motherhood
iii. The Commodification of Reproduction
iv. Reproductive Technologies and Genetic Engineering
The Tyranny of Technology
Two types of coercion:
1. coercive offers
• advocates of NRT claim that these techniques were created to help infertile couples, expanding the
range of choices open to them.
• Feminist argument: choice to participate in NRTs is illusory. Society and culture defines a woman's
identity in terms of motherhood.
• So developing NRTs is not about increasing choice because they are not available to single women
(infertile or not) or lesbian women.
2. coercive threats
• the potential for a loss of control over one's reproductive destiny is increased with the development
of NRTs.
• Ultrasounds, amniocentesis, genetic testing, C-sections all have increased the medical community's
control over the process of birth.
• If trying to increase choice and decrease infertile women's suffering, then doctors would put more
effort in educating all women on causes of infertility.
• Also, NRTs would be open to single and lesbian women.
• The existence of infertility treatments leads people to view infertility as an individual problem, but
in reality, the couple, together, suffers from infertility.
, Dismemberment of Motherhood
• NRTs question the meaning of motherhood
• The maternal experience might become a discontinuous process
• The intimacy of pregnancy, labor, and childbirth is absent, which may lead to a loss of connection
between the mother and child.
• Alienate women from the process of procreation, which removes an experience important for
women's identity and power.
• Importance of genetic and social parenthood is at stake
• Lauritzen believes that there should be a unity between genetic, gestational, and social parenthood
The Commodification of Reproduction
• NRTs treat human beings as products
• Divides person into parts; also divides motherhood.
• NRT process does not treat the whole patient, just parts
• Like "living laboratories", some women were not fully informed of experimental nature of
procedures
• Children would be treated as products because women pay for embryos or eggs
• Because children would be considered property, then can demand for certain standards or else
demand compensation or return the product.
• Lauritzen's experience: difficult to maintain intimacy in clinic environment designed to achieve
results.
• Procreation is separated from sexual intercourse. This would lead to sex being viewed as simply the
production of an object.
Reproductive Technologies and Genetic Engineering
• General acceptance of NRTs is an inevitable route to widespread use of genetic engineering.
• Once the embryo is treated as a product that can be bought and sold, there will be pressure to
create the perfect product.
• If genetic abnormalities can be detected and/or treated, much human suffering might either be
avoided or alleviated. But this raises questions how we should distinguish attempts to alleviate
suffering and attempts at eugenics?
• Increase in effort to create the perfect child. But who decides what is perfect?
• NRT techniques involves placing an extraordinary amount of control in the hands of the doctor, who
for example, picks one sperm out of a million to inseminate the egg.
• A majority of the medical field are male. Thus, NRTs put power in the males' hands.
• Lauritzen does not believe that this is a problem. His doctors are not acting in bad faith in
developing new reproductive technologies.
• There is no conspiracy to gain control of the process of reproduction, but there is an increase in
control
Roman Catholic lines of reasonings about reproductive technologies (Congregation for the Doctrine of
Faith, SCDF)
o Background:
• Require: the respect, defense and promotion of man, his "primary and fundamental right" to life, his
dignity as a person who is endowed with a spiritual soul and with moral responsibility
• Basic scientific research and applied research constitute a significant expression of this dominion of
man over creation
• Require unconditional respect for the fundamental criteria of the moral law
• Morally acceptable use of artificial human procreation involves 2 values: 1) life of human being
called into existence; 2) the special nature of the transmission of human life in marriage
• "gift of human life must be actualized in marriage through the specific and exclusive acts of husband
and wife, in accordance with the laws inscribed in their persons and their union"
o Status of human embryo:
100% Pass
Describe Asch's position on the acceptability of abortion and prenatal genetic diagnosis.
Asch argues that women should have the option of
abortion so that they can be equal to man and be able to avoid the situation as well.
Outlawing abortion is a violation of women's autonomy (involuntary servitude)
We shouldn't abort for gender or disability (unless the disability will result in a very short life span).
Conscientious objection:
the ability to refuse an action or provide a procedure/ "treatment" if a physician believes it to be a
morally objectionable decision
Describe Dresser's 5 models for addressing conscientious objection & their strengths & weaknesses.
1. Contract Model
2. Duty to Refer
3. Entering Professionals Agree to Conform
4. Draft Board Approach
5. Professionals Seek Compromise
Contract Model
o At outset, professional discloses any limits of treatments.
o If a patient requires a service that is excluded, they can then go elsewhere.
o Weakness: does not work when patient needs quick care or no one else can take over and provide
the service.
Duty to Refer
o If the professional objects and will not provide a service, they have an obligation to refer or transfer
patients to another professional that will provide that service.
o Weakness: fails when the contract model fails.
o Weakness: some professionals will feel as if they are still committing wrong in facilitating the service
Entering Professionals Agree to Conform
o Conscientious objection is not allowed.
o If you enter into a profession, you have to conform to its basic standards. Thus you must perform
certain services.
o Weakness: "basic standards" are hard to define, and professionals may not feel as if they have truly
understood and assented to them.
Draft Board Approach
o Requires objectors to explain and defend their opposition to performing a certain service.
o Tries to separate sincere beliefs from those that have other motivations for avoiding a service.
o Weakness: damaging to morale of professionals.
o Weakness: cannot necessarily detect skilled liars.
o Weakness: such a detection process is hard to formulate and may be corrupt.
Professionals Seek Compromise
o Professional should try to find a compromise between their beliefs and the patient's interests.
,o Depends in large part on the hope that other alternatives will arise that keep both professional and
patient happy.
o Weakness: sometimes an option is not available.
o Weakness: compromise can leave both sides unsatisfied.
According to ACOG recommendations, under what conditions are conscientious refusals in
reproductive medicine acceptable?
1. Any refusal that conflicts with a patient's well being should be accommodated ONLY if the primary
duty to the patient can still be fulfilled.
2. health care providers must impart scientifically accurate and unbiased information
3. must provide patients with accurate and prior notice of their personal moral commitments - and
they should not argue/advocate for their positions
4. refer patients in a timely manner to other providers
5. in an emergency in which referral is not possible or might negatively affect a patient's physical
health, providers have obligation
to provide medically indicate and requested are regardless of their moral objections
6. in resource poor areas, access to safe and legal reproductive services should be maintained.
Explain Paul Lauritzen's feminist critique of reproductive technologies.
Paul Lauritzen, himself, experienced difficulties with infertility. He and his wife decided to hold off on
having children until they had established their careers, never expecting/planning on having these
difficulties. Lauritzen felt that he and his wife were mere items within an experiment and feel that
NRTs should only be used after extensive soul searching and as a last resort.
• He presents 4 arguments about NRTs:
i. The Tyranny of Technology
ii. Dismemberment of Motherhood
iii. The Commodification of Reproduction
iv. Reproductive Technologies and Genetic Engineering
The Tyranny of Technology
Two types of coercion:
1. coercive offers
• advocates of NRT claim that these techniques were created to help infertile couples, expanding the
range of choices open to them.
• Feminist argument: choice to participate in NRTs is illusory. Society and culture defines a woman's
identity in terms of motherhood.
• So developing NRTs is not about increasing choice because they are not available to single women
(infertile or not) or lesbian women.
2. coercive threats
• the potential for a loss of control over one's reproductive destiny is increased with the development
of NRTs.
• Ultrasounds, amniocentesis, genetic testing, C-sections all have increased the medical community's
control over the process of birth.
• If trying to increase choice and decrease infertile women's suffering, then doctors would put more
effort in educating all women on causes of infertility.
• Also, NRTs would be open to single and lesbian women.
• The existence of infertility treatments leads people to view infertility as an individual problem, but
in reality, the couple, together, suffers from infertility.
, Dismemberment of Motherhood
• NRTs question the meaning of motherhood
• The maternal experience might become a discontinuous process
• The intimacy of pregnancy, labor, and childbirth is absent, which may lead to a loss of connection
between the mother and child.
• Alienate women from the process of procreation, which removes an experience important for
women's identity and power.
• Importance of genetic and social parenthood is at stake
• Lauritzen believes that there should be a unity between genetic, gestational, and social parenthood
The Commodification of Reproduction
• NRTs treat human beings as products
• Divides person into parts; also divides motherhood.
• NRT process does not treat the whole patient, just parts
• Like "living laboratories", some women were not fully informed of experimental nature of
procedures
• Children would be treated as products because women pay for embryos or eggs
• Because children would be considered property, then can demand for certain standards or else
demand compensation or return the product.
• Lauritzen's experience: difficult to maintain intimacy in clinic environment designed to achieve
results.
• Procreation is separated from sexual intercourse. This would lead to sex being viewed as simply the
production of an object.
Reproductive Technologies and Genetic Engineering
• General acceptance of NRTs is an inevitable route to widespread use of genetic engineering.
• Once the embryo is treated as a product that can be bought and sold, there will be pressure to
create the perfect product.
• If genetic abnormalities can be detected and/or treated, much human suffering might either be
avoided or alleviated. But this raises questions how we should distinguish attempts to alleviate
suffering and attempts at eugenics?
• Increase in effort to create the perfect child. But who decides what is perfect?
• NRT techniques involves placing an extraordinary amount of control in the hands of the doctor, who
for example, picks one sperm out of a million to inseminate the egg.
• A majority of the medical field are male. Thus, NRTs put power in the males' hands.
• Lauritzen does not believe that this is a problem. His doctors are not acting in bad faith in
developing new reproductive technologies.
• There is no conspiracy to gain control of the process of reproduction, but there is an increase in
control
Roman Catholic lines of reasonings about reproductive technologies (Congregation for the Doctrine of
Faith, SCDF)
o Background:
• Require: the respect, defense and promotion of man, his "primary and fundamental right" to life, his
dignity as a person who is endowed with a spiritual soul and with moral responsibility
• Basic scientific research and applied research constitute a significant expression of this dominion of
man over creation
• Require unconditional respect for the fundamental criteria of the moral law
• Morally acceptable use of artificial human procreation involves 2 values: 1) life of human being
called into existence; 2) the special nature of the transmission of human life in marriage
• "gift of human life must be actualized in marriage through the specific and exclusive acts of husband
and wife, in accordance with the laws inscribed in their persons and their union"
o Status of human embryo:
