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The 6th ELSI Congress - ELSIcon2024

ELSIcon2024: Analyzing Gamete Donation Screening Guidelines and Their Impact on Disability

Type
Conference

ELSIcon2024 • Paper • June 10, 2024 

Authors:

Speaker: Hannah V. Carpenter, LLB, MA (she/her/hers) – The University of Texas Medical Branch

The medical model of disability which focuses on a person's physical or mental limitations is widely endorsed by biomedical perspectives, with the potential to influence health determinations based on biomedical ‘ideals.’ The medical model is manifested in an array of assisted reproductive techniques, including gamete donation selection. The screening and selection of gamete donors have become common practice to ensure the health of future offspring. However, the lack of U.S. regulation governing assisted reproduction allows comprehensive clinical guidelines established by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) to guide gamete donor eligibility. The ASRM guidelines perpetuate the medicalization of disability by placing significant emphasis on selecting donors who are ‘healthy’ and encouraging genetic counselors to exclude individuals with ‘undesirable’ characteristics. This rhetoric promotes biomedical genetic ‘ideals’ of health and may reinforce the idea that any disability or genetic condition against the biomedical ‘norm’ is undesirable. This presentation urges the reconceptualization of disability in gamete donation using a disability justice framework. Embracing a more inclusive approach to assisted reproduction that values the diversity of potential donors and recognizes the broader context of disability is essential for creating a society that values all individuals, regardless of their genetic makeup.

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Tags

Keywords
ELSIcon2024
6th ELSI Congress
disability
Law, regulation, and governance
reproductive genetics

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