Just because something can be done, does not necessarily mean it should be done.
In all honesty, it kind of pisses me off, for a number of reasons.
There are lots of things humans do because they can ... but probably shouldn't
I think this is actually pretty neat. I’ve never wanted to have children, personally. I’d rather foster or adopt. Why let a perfectly good organ go to waste though, if there are women out there that WANT babies but cannot have them. I’ve thought about voluntarily offering my uterus for transplant. You get your baby, I get no menzies. It’s a win-win for two different women.
WTF extreme measures for reproduction
Exactly.
It's got nothing to do with saving lives, or prolonging lives.
It's nothing more than facilitating the selfish desires of people who refuse to accept reality.
There WILL be people who will pay absorbidant amounts of money because they are ethically bankrupt and don't care how they can get what they want, as long as they DO.
@NoPlanetB It's extraordinarily selfish to refuse to accept reality.
It's extraordinarily selfish to want to procreate when hundreds of thousands
of children need loving homes.
The "need" to procreate is no longer a species-imperative.
Your attempt at armchair psychology is faulty, at best.
If it were a necessary organ, like a heart or liver, I could see it...just as I see certain plastic surgery options as necessary, like cleft palette reconstruction...but, a uterus...just to have your own kid...seems like science could be doing other things...I wonder how people would feel if this operation were done on a male to female transgender person?
Have to think more about this, but my initial reaction was that it is an optional surgery that doesn't warrant the resources and risks. The caveat being that I was never maternal, so I have no idea what it must feel like to want to bear a child that badly. Interesting...
100% agreed.
@KKGator of course, they don't give the religious affiliation of the person, but I often wonder why those who are religious can't accept that certain things are just not meant to be because of God...it would seem that they reject this prevalent stance, ie. God's will, when it is convenient...just an observation...
@thinktwice Yep. The whole "god's will" thing gets totally ignored when it goes against what people want.
So, you are saying that the operation performed on a Male to Female transgender person would be controversial? I can agree with that. But, wouldn't Male to Female transgenders be the second-most prime candidates for this procedure? And wouldn't that procedure alone serve to end the "you'll never be a real woman" stigma that goes hand in hand with being transgender? I don't see this as a bad thing at all.
@NoPlanetB Not a valid analogy...while both abortion and a uterine implant have alternatives, such as putting the resulting baby up for adoption/adopting if you can't have a child, the former does not require resources nor does it impact society as a whole. The procedure of abortion is relatively simple and is not as medically risky. It is nearly 100% effective. It has a net zero effect on population and uses limited resources.
A uterine implant carries higher risk and is not 100% effective...granted it is in the emerging stages...it is putting in something that was missing and hoping it works for no other reason than maternal desires. It is the same reason that people with limited resources have multiple kids: they can't afford them, but they have the maternal desire. This does impact society and the world...too many people..
I am not saying that it should not be a choice of the woman and her family...but it still reeks of going through extraordinary means to accomplish something that could be akin to going to extremes to keep people alive beyond their natural deaths.
I find that population explosion is not a topic that is included in most discussions when it comes to doing something about saving our planet's resources...sometimes science goes against nature and it is troubling to think that we might be upsetting an ecological balance by creating and sustaining life.
@Alvin No--I only brought that up because I expect that the argument would be brought up by a religious, pro-life group that would be promoting and supporting this science until it came to offering the same choice to transgender people wanting a full transition. If it were fully available to them, I would be more inclined to be supportive of this science.
@NoPlanetB I see your point when I look at it strictly as a pro-choice decision of the woman. I don't see it when I think of the societal concerns for having babies in a too populated world. I think time will tell if this is going to be a routine thing for childless couples...or if this one case so far is just an anomaly...it is more complex than I thought after I read everyone's responses...
@NoPlanetB I am here to learn..I remember being horrified when our law firm helped patent the mouse that grew an ear on it's back...until I learned how the science could be used to create skin for burn victims...perhaps if I knew a mother who desperately wanted a child, I would feel differently...we all have opinions muddied by our own personal experiences...we learn from listening to those of others even if we don't agree...you and others gave me food for thought...
@NoPlanetB True...plus there are so many layers and when you start peeling them down, branches off in all sorts of directions appear...there really is no simple answer to anything anymore...I am not interested in being right...I am interested in finding the right information... that is science to me...
Good discussion. Not having the maternal instinct in my DNA make-up I can not understand the drive to reproduce.
I do know the world is not really nurturing the babies, toddlers and kiddies we already have. I would like to see real focus of resources on those hungry, sick and frightened ones. The article does not say who paid for all this.
Given where we have seen the ability of human nature to turn good intentions to evil the process kinda gives me the creeps.
Exactly!
I made the same points in other responses.
Ewww. This was not a choice I would have made, but I was Fertile Myrtle so it wasn't an issue. Is this too much meddling by science in the name of science? Could men have a uterus transplanted and bear a child? So many ethical angles, is this leading us to a future of designer children and uteruses without a body?
Not remotely outside the realm of possibility.
We always take things to their most unnecessary and absurd conclusions.
That's how we got the Law of Unintended Consequences. We meddle with things better left alone.
Agree . I wonder , when u are born without uterus , and u made it to mid thirties without a child , what triggers to decide motherhood NOW . From the age of 15 to 35 , there are 20 yrs of womanhood to understand , accept , and take actions if any .
This is not a fallen heart , liver , etc . This is not vital . But let's say , important to her . Ok . Well . 20 yrs , was the plan ? Sit around and wait for science breakthrough ?
20 yrs and no thoughts of different host or adoption ?
I don't bye on miracle stories like this .
This is probably a lady that was informed through the chain of the new ability / procedure and volunteer to participate .
And guess what ? Got a spot on fame hall
Nah .
I wonder how many steroids and such the pregnant woman had to take in order for body to not reject transplanted organ . I wonder is that a healthy for baby pregnancy ?
The difference between a uterine transplant and a transplant of some other organ is that another life is involved. With any other organ, it's basically just the patient who is taking on the risk. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about uterine transplants and I'm not judging anybody, but maybe KKGator is right, and adoption or being a foster parent is a better choice.
@altschmerz So lobby for changes to the adoption laws.
Don't start harvesting the uteri of dead women to fulfill the selfish desires of women who are infertile.
If adoption is not an available option, as I previously pointed out, there are hundreds of thousands of kids in the foster care system who need loving families to take them in. Even if the foster kids don't get adopted, they still end up "belonging" to families.
(this is not directed at you personally, @altschmerz, it's just a response to the topic in general)
@altschmerz Discussion is always a good thing. Especially when people do not agree.
I think this is not something you need to be concerned about. Let women make their own decisions.
I can be concerned and/or have an opinion about any fucking thing I please.
Neither you, nor anyone else. get to tell me what that "should" be.
What you think does not concern me.
@KKGator Really? You seem pretty riled up. You express an opinion and it's sort of inviting other people to express theirs; to agree or disagree--or not? If I am telling you what your opinion "should" be, then are you not also telling us what our opinions should be as well? I'm not seeing the difference.
@Carin She got riled up because your comment was condescending in tone.
@MST3K I'm very sorry I gave that impression.
Why should this not be done? Do you have more of an issue with this than other kinds of organ transplants?
I answered the same question below regarding other types of transplants.
Personally, I think more people should be dying, and faster.
This rock is already tremendously over-populated.
Let nature take it's course.
If you're sick, and your organs fail, you die.
If you are infertile, you don't have children.
@KKGator Do you go to the doctor when you are sick? Do you get flu shots or other vaccines? How can you expect people to ignore the most basic instinct of all, which is to stay alive? You and I happen to be the same age. I don't think there's a huge chance either of us would still be here without modern medicine. I myself would have died of peritonitis when my daughter was 7--no thank you!
@Carin You are extrapolating to make your point, which has nothing to do with what I said.
This isn't about vaccines, at all.
This is about procreating through artificial means.
There is a huge difference between the two.
Edit
As a point of fact, going to the doctor for general wellness, or to "stay alive", has NOTHING to do with
procreation.
Procreation is not necessary to maintaining one's life.
I never posited what I expect other people to do, or not do.
I simply stated I disagree with harvesting uteri to advance the selfish desires of infertile women.
@Carin That is absolutely how I feel.
I'd be thrilled if people just allowed nature to take it's course.
However, I am not interfering with their right to as they see fit.
Having a dead woman's uterus implanted inside you, just so you can have a child is fucked up, selfish, and I think it's wrong.
I'm not interfering with that either.
I get it, you don't agree.
It's always nice when people let themselves be experimented on.
Fuck