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Please first read the following link - http://www.npr.org/2011/09/18/140477014/donor-conceived-children-seek-missing-identities
Can we ethically give away our sperm or egg (our own children) to comfort childless couples?
Is that fair to them?
Are we using the children in that way for something they would rather not have been a part of? Something that perhaps even they have the right not to be subjected to?
Questions arise. Was the knowledge of there family history carelessly sold away from them?
I think there is a tough (or maybe not so tough) moral question here.
Even in the presence of both good and bad outcomes, there is a dilemma, and it argues that children are not a commodity that we can rightly buy and sell.
To me, it makes abortion look pretty good; in that, abortion effects a living, not-conscious, developing physical entity, but a sperm/egg donation effects a conscious fully viable soul - one standing in front of us holding us accountable for his/her technologically enabled life.
Should the donation require that the donor accept that his/her identity will be available to the adult donor-conceived child? Would that significantly change the number of donations, or merely the quality of donors? Would doing so head off these bad outcomes in a humane way that could be acceptable to both the donor and the donor-conceived?
Feel free to share some thoughts.
If you think this is a challenging issue, then wait until we get to In Vitro Fertilization.
