Selective Reduction: "A Soft Cover for Hard Choices" or Another Name for Abortion?

Twin pregnancy, fetal reduction and the 'all or nothing problem'

Fetal reduction is the practice of reducing the number of fetuses in a multiple pregnancy, such as quadruplets, to a twin or singleton pregnancy. Use of assisted reproductive technologies increases the likelihood of multiple pregnancies, and many fetal reductions are done after in vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer, either because of social or health-related reasons. In this paper, I apply Joe Horton's all or nothing problem to the ethics of fetal reduction in the case of a twin pregnancy. I argue that in the case of a twin pregnancy, there are two intuitively plausible claims: (1) abortion is morally permissible, and (2) it is morally wrong to abort just one of the fetuses. But since we should choose morally permissible acts rather than impermissible ones, the two claims lead to another highly implausible claim: the woman ought to abort both fetuses rather than only one. Yet, this does not seem right. A plausible moral theory cannot advocate such a pro-death view. Or can it? I suggest ways to solve this problem and draw implications for each solution.

Negotiating risk and choice in multifetal pregnancies

Today, across all aspects of societal living, risk assessment is an ever-present exercise. Pervasiveness of technology in the everyday life has caused the world of 'risk' to change tremendously, and this is particularly true for childbearing females. The social construction of pregnancy and childbirth as, arguably, medical events that necessitate medical intervention - ever more so for multifetal pregnancies - makes it almost impossible to avoid the notions of risk that surround the events. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 41 mothers of twins or triplets, we investigate how understandings of risk, combined with the ideology of good motherhood and information provided by physicians impact perceptions of fetal reduction or termination. We have discussed and theorized empirical findings within the framework of risk, discourses of the responsibilization of females, and the potential 'sacred child' in a context where selective reduction becomes a potentiality.

The Triple System for Regulating Women's Reproduction

Analysis of ART and abortion must include the experiences of women at the emerging center of American life, as well as those at the top and bottom of the socioeconomic scale. Our contribution explores the triple system of fertility regulation, analyzing the intersections between fertility and class and using the experiences of women in the middle to add depth to our understanding of women's exercises of autonomy.

When Is an Abortion Not an Abortion?

Discussion about the similarities and differences between abortion and multi-fetal pregnancy reduction, including the tug-of-war over naming, highlights ongoing contestation about the relationship between the law, ethics, and women's bodies. Ultimately, the law must root itself in the realities of pregnancy including the physical and social consequences that any pregnancy creates for the woman who carries it.

Disclosure Two Ways

This article is an initial attempt to compare the pre-abortion disclosure mandates that have proliferated in the two decades since the Court decided Planned Parenthood v. Casey with laws that, in the context of assisted reproduction and reproductive health, require specific disclosures beyond a state's baseline informed consent requirements. While some scholars have characterized pre-abortion disclosure laws as sui generis, they share some important common features with disclosure mandates in the context of oocyte donation and other reproductive health procedures. This article suggests that in critiquing pre-abortion disclosure mandates, scholars and advocates should be careful to differentiate the use of disclosure laws in general from uses where the government interest conveys a moral preference against a particular procedure.