Expert warns “right to child” does not exist

Lima, Peru, Oct 23, 2006 / 22:00 pm

A renowned Peruvian doctor who has published a book on the ethical and moral problems of assisted reproduction said this week, “Although many parents think the have a right to have a child no matter how, morally speaking this right is non-existent.”

Dr. Luis Raez, oncologist and professor of medicine at the University of Miami, was in Lima to present his new book, “Risks and Problems of In-Vitro Fertilization: From Cloning to the Destruction of Human Embryos.”

In an interview with the Peruvian daily “El Comercio,” Raez said that with the false premise that the ends justify the means, “many parents assert that since they want to have a child, it doesn’t matter if it comes through a neighbor, a donor, or from rent-a-womb.”

“In-vitro fertilization breaks natural law: there are no more rules because you are manipulating the process according to your own whims and you are eliminating the natural relationships of motherhood and fatherhood, of parents and children, because the principle that is held up is that of everything goes.  The child, on the other hand, does have a right to a father and a mother,” he added.

Raez also noted that in-vitro fertilization is far from technically perfect, since a number of embryos are killed during the process of implantation in the woman’s uterus.  “Since people can’t see them, perhaps they don’t consider it a problem. But embryos are human beings.  What happens if two or three embryos are implanted at the same time? The woman would have a high-risk pregnancy, but if she only wants one, then the left over embryos would have to be killed,” he added.

Referring to the role of legislation in such matters, Raez said laws should protect and guarantee the security of the human being rather than politically endorsing what suits a particular group.  “Scientific advances have to be at the service of man because the problems occur when scientists begin to play God, kill embryos and make the life of the human being relative in accord with their economic interests.”

Raez, who has authored several books on euthanasia, embryonic stem-cell research, abortion and AIDS, said that while one million people have been born through various assisted reproductions techniques, many people continue to be unaware of their terrible ethical implications, such as eugenics in the selection of the race or sex of the embryo.