By Richard Miller, WSU Global Campus

A lesbian couple wants a baby genetically related to both of them. They’re considering using sperm from one woman’s brother. He just turned 18. Should they ask him?

The situation involved the relative of a Washington State University student. The student asked Bill Kabasenche, WSU assistant professor of philosophy, for advice. He saw a “wild conglomeration” of issues:

• Is the brother old enough to give informed consent?
• Is he old enough to become a father?
• What responsibilities would he have?
• Why is it important to have genetically related kids?
• If genetics are that important, then they’d be equally important to the brother, which means he’d have significant responsibilities.
• Is parenthood fundamentally a relationship of love or of biology?
• Is the couple using the baby as an instrument to validate the relationship?
• If people can design their babies, does that replace unconditional love with a sense of comparison shopping?

Kabasenche’s specialty is bioethics. He teaches several courses on the topic and is co-director of the ethics committee at Pullman Regional Hospital. He’s also the force behind WSU’s new online graduate certificate in bioethics. Continue story →