Arthur L. Caplan It is commonly said, especially when the subject is
assisted reproduction, that medical technology has out- stripped our
morality. Yet, as the essays in this volume make clear, that is not an
accurate assessment of the situ- ation. Medical technology has not
overwhelmed our moral- ity. It would be more accurate to say that our
society has not yet achieved consensus about the complex ethical iss-
ues that arise when medicine tries to assist those who seek its services
in order to reproduce. Nevertheless, there is no shortage of ethical
opinion about what we ought to do with respect to the use of surrogate
mothers, in vitro fertil- ization, embryo transfer, artificial
insemination, or fertil- ity drugs. Nor is it entirely accurate to
describe assisted repro- duction as technology. The term "technology"
carries with it connotations of machines buzzing and technicians
scurrying about trying to control a vast array of equip- ment. Yet, most
of the methods used to assist reproduc- tion that are discussed in this
volume do not involve exotic technologies or complicated hardware. It is
technique, more than technology, that dominates the field of assisted
reproduction. Efforts to help the infertile by means of the manipu-
lation of human reproductive materials and organs date 1 2 Caplan back
at least to Biblical times. Human beings have en- gaged in all manner of
sexual practices and manipulations in attempts to achieve reproduction
when nature has balked at allowing life to begin.
