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Is gene therapy for the treatment of male infertility ethical?

Nature Clinical Practice Urology volume 5, pages 596–597 (2008)Cite this article

Developments that affect when, where and with whom we reproduce attract substantial ethical and social attention. The ways in which we influence a person's ability to reproduce, whether by contraception or assisted fertilization, are of ethical interest. While debates about some techniques are ongoing, the familiar strategies have generally been socially accepted.

Infertility is a problem that affects many couples; however, men with infertility arguably receive less attention than women.1 One cause of this disproportionate attention could be the view that reproduction is the responsibility of women, and if something is awry, the problem is primarily considered to lie with the female. Furthermore, the perceived emasculation associated with the inability of a man to impregnate a woman may also contribute to the divergence of social attention.

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  1. Program on the Ethics of the New Biosciences, Suite 8, Littlegate House, 16/17 St Ebbe's Street, Oxford OX1 1PT, UK mark.sheehan@philosophy.ox.ac.uk

Authors and Affiliations

  1. M Sheehan is a James Martin Research Fellow in the Program on the Ethics of the New Biosciences at the Faculty of Philosophy and James Martin 21st Century School, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,

    Mark Sheehan

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Sheehan, M. Is gene therapy for the treatment of male infertility ethical?. Nat Rev Urol 5, 596–597 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpuro1235

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