Religious Perspectives on Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy
September 2024
Children playing in Anticoli Corrado by Mariano Barbasán Lagueruelai (PD-US).
The development and success of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) worldwide has generated new possibilities for individuals and families seeking to have children. It has also presented challenges and questions. In addition to reproductive technologies available through medical means, aspiring parents have also increasingly resorted to surrogate parenting arrangements to bring children into the world. Both assisted reproductive technologies and surrogacy agreements may be subject to legislation and regulation of both conservative and permissive sorts, or they can be unregulated in ways that created uncertainty and variation among jurisdictions. Religious convictions also often shape decisions—and sometimes laws—on assisted reproduction and surrogacy. This series seeks to elicit and examine different religious perspectives on assisted reproductive technologies and surrogacy and the implications of these for law and society. ♦
“Gestational Surrogacy and Hindu Bioethics: The Karma of Genetics and the Genetics of Karma“
Deepak Sarma is the Inaugural Distinguished Scholar in the Public Humanities, Case Western Reserve University. After earning a BA in religion from Reed College, Sarma attended the Divinity School at the University of Chicago where they received a PhD in the philosophy of religions, and specialized in Indian philosophy. Sarma writes and researches about “Hinduism,” contemporary Hinduism, bioethics, Madhva Vedanta, Cultural Theory, philosophy, post-colonial studies, museology, and the Grateful Dead. Verily, their job is to shed light and not to master.
“Judaism Says Yes to IVF and PGD”
Michael J. Broyde — whose given Hebrew name is Mattiyahu — is a law professor at Emory University who writes on matters of Jewish law generally. He is an ordained rabbi who has served in a variety of rabbinical roles. For more information about him, see www.broydeblog.net.
“What Do Protestants Believe about In Vitro Fertilization? It’s Complicated”
Whittney Barth is executive director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University and Charlotte McDaniel Scholar. She holds a JD from the University of Chicago Law School, MDiv from Harvard Divinity School, and BA from Miami University. Views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of CSLR.