Legislating respect: a pro-choice feminist analysis of embryo research restrictions in Canada.

AuthorDeckha, Maneesha

This article investigates the impact of legislating respect and dignity for the embryo in vitro on the legal and cultural status of the embryo in utero. It evaluates the restrictions on embryo research in Canada's Assisted Human Reproduction Act (AHRA) to consider whether they should receive pro-choice feminist support. Specifically, the article explores whether it is possible for feminists to accord respect to the in vitro embryo, as the AHRA attempts to do, without jeopardizing support for abortion. The article canvasses the theoretical possibilities of this position by comparing the compatibility of feminist articulations of a right to abortion (bodily integrity and equality) with feminist arguments against the expansive use of embryos in research (commodification and exploitation). The article argues that it is logically compatible for feminists to promote "respect" and "dignity" for in vitro embryos while maintaining a pro-choice position on abortion. The article nevertheless cautions against feminist support for AHRA as it currently stands given that, on a practical basis, a feminist understanding of the AHRA's restricted embryo research regime is difficult to achieve in the public sphere. The article explains why the more likely result for the public sphere will be an unqualified discourse of respect and dignity for embryos in general, which could then problematically revive the abortion debate and destabilize the non-personhood status of the in utero embryo. As a remedy, the article provides recommendations for how AHRA should be amended so as to better ensure that legislative restrictions on embryo research signal a legislative intent that respects women's reproductive autonomy.

Cet article etudie l'impact de legiferer sur la question du respect et de la dignite d'un embryon in vitro et sur les statuts juridique et culturel de l'embryon dans l'uterus. Il evalue les restrictions aux recherches sur les embryons prevues au Canada dans la Loi sur la procreation assistee (LPA) pour determiner si el]es doivent recevoir un soutien des pro-choix feministes. Plus precisement, l'article examine s'il est possible pour les feministes de respecter l'embryon in vitro, ce que tente de faire la LPA, sans mettre en peril le soutien a l'avortement. L'article examine les possibilites theoriques de cette position en comparant la compatibilite des articulations feministes d'un droit a l'avortement (integrite corporelle et egalite) avec des arguments feministes contre l'utilisation large des embryons dans la recherche (marchandisation et exploitation). L'article soutient qu'il est logiquement compatible pour les feministes de promouvoir a la foi > et > pour les embryons, in vitro tout en conservant une position pro-choix en matiere d'avortement. L'article met neanmoins en garde contre le soutien feministe pour la LPA sous sa forme actuelle etant donne que, sur le plan pratique, une comprehension feministe des restrictions sur les recherches sur les embryons prevues dans la LPA est difficile a realiser dans la sphere publique. Cet article explique pourquoi le resultat le plus probable pour la sphere publique sera un Uscours sans reserve de respect et de dignite pour les embryons en general, ce qui pourrait alors s'averer problematique en relancant le debat sur l'avortement et en destabilisant le statut de non-personnalite de l'embryon dans ruterus. Pour y remedier, l'article fournit des recommandations sur la facon dont la LPA doit etre modifiee afin de mieux garantir que les restrictions legislatives sur la recherche sur l'embryon refletent une intention du legislateur qui respecte l'autonomie reproductive des femmes.

Introduction I. The Disconnect II. ESCR Rationales--A Discourse of Respect and/or Dignity or Something Else? III. "Respecting" Embryos and Abortion Rights--Theoretically Possible? A. Feminist Pro-choice Arguments that Ethically Advert to the Embryo B. Feminist Critiques of Reproductive Technologies that Advert to the Embryo C. Philosophical Compatibility IV. "Respecting" Embryos and Abortion Rights--Practically Possible? A. Inactive Regulator B. Rise of Pro-life Initiatives at the Federal Level C. Rationales for Embryo Research Restrictions in Mainstream Media D. Embodying Embryos in Law V. Recommendations for Reform A. Articulate the Feminist Reasons to be Concerned about the In Vitro Embryo B. Affirm Women's Rights to Bodily Integrity and the Need for Abortion C. Distinguish Between the In Vitro and In Utero Context in Terms of the Ethics Raised Conclusion Introduction

Canada is one of the few countries worldwide without a specific piece of legislation directly regulating abortion. (1) When positioned along a global spectrum, Canada may be said to occupy an "extreme" position in its (dis)regard for the in utero embryo or fetus, and its (high) value for the integrity of women's bodies and their reproductive lives. (2) But the abortion debate is not the only venue where questions and arguments regarding the moral status of the human embryo circulate. Embryonic stem cell research and the miracles it portends have caught the imagination of scientists, politicians, and the public alike, for reasons not the least of which involves the rate of in vitro embryos, which are vital to this form of stem cell research. Although this area is not as ubiquitously regulated as abortion, a substantial number of countries have passed legislation specifying the scope of embryonic stem cell research that they find acceptable. Canada is among these countries and, interestingly, as discussed below, has adopted a middle position when compared to its peers, generally permitting research on existing embryos under certain conditions, but not the creation of new ones.

While Canada's tempered position in the debate may appear to be a sensible compromise, further query gives reason for pause. If the rationale for the midway position is indeed a desire to afford human embryo life some respect and dignity, it is a striking one since Canadian law has (1) held that the fetus and thus, presumably, the embryo, which is even further removed from the moment of birth, is not a person and therefore is denied the rights and ethical significance that that legal status entails; (3) and (2) not acknowledged that embryos, while hot persons, are nonetheless to be respected. (4) A restrictive stem cell regime is understandable in jurisdictions where restrictive abortion regimes also exist, or where, if not personhood, there is at least some explicit legal recognition of the value of human embryonic life. It seems discordant in a country where pro-life discourse is not predominant in public discourse and the criminalization or even targeted regulation of abortion is not a live political issue. (5)

The main goal of this article is to investigate the extent and impact of such a discourse of respect and dignity for the embryo in the stem cell debate on the legal and cultural discourse surrounding the embryo when abortion and women's bodies are in issue. The paper is thus aimed at evaluating the current restrictions on embryo research in the Assisted Human Reproduction Act (6) and whether they should receive pro-choice feminist support. Of course, whether the AHRA fortifies a pro-life position is but just one measure by which to calibrate the benefits of assistive reproductive technologies and embryo research in general. There are other reasons for pro-choice feminists to withhold or apply support that do not focus on the human embryo's moral status and that should be considered in any exhaustive feminist inquiry into the ethics of embryo research. (7) I have narrowed my focus by considering whether pro-choice feminists in Canada, who are generally cautious about reproductive technologies due to the perceived threats these technologies pose to women's bodies, should welcome the embryo research restrictions the AHRA now provides. Given the strong feminist involvement at the early stages of lobbying for regulation of new reproductive technologies, (8) should feminists view the current legislation as a victory in feminist advocacy on this issue? Or, instead, should these feminists be cautious about the AHRA restrictions on embryo research due to AHRA's cohesion with pro-life views regarding the value and meaning of the human embryo?

Part I sketches the disconnect animating this query and provides some background on the debate surrounding embryonic stem cell research. Part II, drawing from government and media discourse, briefly sets out the various rationales for the restrictions on the embryo provisions and the shifting influence of feminist interpretations of a restricted embryo research regime.

This background being laid out, Part III begins to take up the main query of the article to explore whether it is possible for pro-choice feminists to accord respect to the in vitro embryo. This part canvasses the theoretical possibilities of this position by comparing the compatibility of feminist articulations of a right to abortion (bodily integrity, equality, etc.) with possible feminist arguments against the expansive use of embryos in research (commodification, exploitation, and the scientific instrumentalization of life in general). Part III then moves into a consideration of whether the level of "respect" and "dignity" for embryos ascertained earlier in Part II is logically compatible with liberal abortion regimes, such as the Canadian regime, and argues that it is.

With the theoretical possibilities charted of how feminist views on abortion may coexist with respect and dignity for the in vitro embryo, Part IV proceeds to explore the viability of a feminist understanding of a restricted embryo research regime permeating public consciousness, even though this understanding is theoretically possible. This part explains why the more likely result for the public sphere will be an unqualified discourse of respect and dignity for embryos in general...

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