The Bioethics Committee, on late motherhood and surrogacy: "It can turn children into programmed orphans"

MADRID, 23 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Spanish Bioethics Committee considers it necessary to reflect on whether there should be an age limit to be a mother or father by surrogacy because it can turn minors into "programmed orphans", in cases such as that of the presenter Ana Obregón, who has Been a mother this way at the age of 68.

"The age of the principals must be considered as it could turn the children into programmed orphans," explained the president of the Spanish Bioethics Committee, Leonor Ruiz, in an interview with Europa Press.

In addition, he recalled that "in the case of adoption in Spain it is required to have a difference with the adoptee over 16 years of age and under 45" and that "this requirement is based on the need to guarantee a priori responsibility and commitment with upbringing."

In general, on the practice of surrogacy, the Spanish Bioethics Committee, without having carried out a "rigorous and well-founded" debate that would lead to a report, points out that surrogacy "cannot be considered as an assisted reproduction technique more" because "pregnancy is not a neutral biological process" and calls for a "calm and prudent" reflection beyond "personal opinions and noted cases".

"It is an undeniable fact for science that pregnancy is not a neutral biological process but, on the contrary, during it epigenetic phenomena take place that modify the expression of genes, that there is an exchange of cellular material between the pregnant woman and the fetus and that an emotional and affective bond is established between them during the months of gestation", specified the president of the Committee.

In this way, he added that, from a bioethical point of view, "it should not be considered as another assisted reproduction technique and it is convenient to carefully analyze the different elements that come into play and the values ​​that may come into conflict".

Specifically, it has indicated that, on the one hand, there are "committees" who express their desire to be fathers and mothers and "who for different reasons (medical, structural, aesthetic) resort to this route"; on the other, the "pregnant woman who with different motivations (altruistic or commercial) yields and exposes her body for the gestation of a boy or girl that she is going to get rid of as soon as she is born"; and as an "essential" element, the minor and "whatever may be derived from this process, that affects her dignity or puts her protection at risk."

"In this scenario we can ask ourselves if it is correct to set limits on wishes, if it is correct to intentionally break the link between pregnancy and maternity, if the desire of the parents is always identified with the best interests of the minor, if it is possible to harmonize the values ​​and interests of the principals, the surrogate mother and the thus-born, if it is correct to be a father or mother at the expense of the use of the body of another woman even if she has given her consent, if it is possible to regulate altruism", he argues.

In any case, Ruiz has recalled that surrogacy is "an illegal practice in Spain" but has defended that children born this way must continue to be registered in order to prioritize the best interests of the minor and that they are not left unprotected. regarding their parentage rights.

"This is how it should continue to be, but it is necessary to reflect on the consequences that this apparent contradiction may have on the principles that are used for the illegalization in Spain (objectification of women, exploitation, instrumentalization of children) and articulate prudent solutions that protect minors and the most vulnerable people," he stresses.

Regarding whether it is ethical to use the genetic material of a deceased child to have a baby by surrogacy, as has happened in the case of Ana Obregón, Ruiz has specified that the Committee has not deliberated on this matter and therefore "has no opinion based on the ethical problems that may arise from this specific situation". Although, he insists that the best interest of the child must be "the axis that backbones ethical reflection."

As he recalls, Spain has regulated the postmortem use of gametes since 2006 with the promulgation of the Assisted Human Reproduction Law; and it is not only regulated by law in the US or in Spain, but also in other countries such as England, the Netherlands, Greece and recently Portugal, each with different conditions.

On the other hand, the president of the Spanish Bioethics Committee has advanced that they do not rule out including the issue of genetic selection in their "future agenda" and, a priori, in a general way, points out that "it is necessary to consider that it does not have the the same ethical implications when carrying out genetic selection techniques when the aim is to cure a disease as when the aim is to modify the natural human capacities".

In addition, he added that the decision to apply this type of technique must be considered in "a general framework of reflection, deliberation and consensus, guided by the recommendations already approved or that are being approved by legitimate organizations and institutions at the national and international level" .

"Currently, the technological possibilities seem to have no limits and the consequences of its application stress fundamental values ​​on which we have built the world we inhabit not only in the present, but also the one we want to leave as a legacy to future generations", he reflected. Ruiz.