Reference no: EM133478857
Assignment:
Case 1: A Business Proposition: Embryos for Sale
"I want to make this a straightforward business proposition." Sam Witt looked across the table at Susan Becker. "Dorla and I think that Carolyn is a fine little girl. She's healthy and strong, pretty, and smart as a whip."
"Thank you for saying all those nice things about my daughter." Becker frowned in puzzlement. "But what does Carolyn have to do with a business proposition?"
"This is a delicate matter." Witt glanced down at his coffee, then looked up again. "I don't want to get too personal, but I know that you and Joe had some problems having a kid."
"That's no secret." Becker shook her head. "I've got scarred tubes, so we used in vitro fertilization. The embryo was cloned into six copies so if the first try didn't work, we could do it again." She smiled. "But the first try did work."
"So you've still got five embryos on ice." Witt leaned toward her. "That's what I was talking about. Dorla and I want to buy one of them, and we're prepared to pay you and Joe $35,000 for it."
"Thirty-five thousand dollars." Becker sat up straight, her eyes opened wide. "But why? Why not have your own child?"
"We could, but like I said, Dorla and I really like everything we see in Carolyn. We're not so sure how things would turn out with our own kid, given our genetic backgrounds. There's a lot of depression on my side, and the women in Dorla's family have a high incident of breast cancer." "We also want a girl. We wouldn't offer as much for a boy." Witt shrugged. "Let's just say we want a daughter, but we also want some insurance to go along with her."
"She would be just like Carolyn," Becker said in a distracted voice. "But we could sure use the money."
"If our baby turns out like Carolyn, then I think we have a real opportunity to sell the remaining embryos. I know a couple that has struggled with fertility and I bet I could get at least $35,000 for another embryo. Of course, I would take 10% as a commission." Said Witt.
Becker listened carefully, considering what to say next.
Answer the following questions with as much detail as possible.
1. If it is morally acceptable to create and freeze human embryos, is there any reason it would be morally objectionable to sell them? If it is morally acceptable to sell human embryos, is it acceptable to pay a commission to an "embryo broker"?
2. Is it morally objectionable to sell them for a higher value because of the sex of the embryo? What about other desirable characteristics associated with the source?
3. What are the legal, ethical, and social implications of using frozen embryos to duplicate individuals to ensure a likable turnout when having a child?
4. What are the possible consequences for the child? For the parents (biological and adoptive)?