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13 Int'l J. Child. Rts. 287 (2005)
Defining Parenthood

handle is hein.journals/intjchrb13 and id is 293 raw text is: The International Journal of Children s Rights, 13: 287-310,2005. 287 © 2005. Konnklijke Brill NV Printed in the Netherlands. Defining Parenthood BONNIE STEINBOCK Department of Philosophy, State University of New York at Albany Introduction Advances in reproductive medicine require us to rethink concepts previously taken for granted, including the notion of parenthood. On the one hand, it has always been possible to distinguish between the biological aspect of being a parent, or reproduction, on the one hand, and the social component, or rearing, on the other. Adoption and fostering of children are nothing new, and neither are disputes over custody. On the other hand, assisted reproductive technology (ART) compounds the potential for complication. A child can have five dif- ferent parents: the genetic father, who provides the sperm; the genetic mother, who provides the egg; a surrogate who is not genetically related to the child she carries and bears; and the intended rearing parents who have no biological con- nection to the child. Indeed, the notion of 'genetic mother' can be even further divided. Using a technique known as egg cell nuclear transfer, the nucleus con- taining most of the DNA can be taken from one woman and transplanted into an enucleated egg cell from another woman.' The new egg cell would have the nuclear DNA from one woman, while its ooplasm, containing mitochondrial DNA, would come from another woman. The resulting child would thus have genetic material from two different women, and thus six contenders for the role of parent. Sometimes this multiplication of parents results in custody disputes, and courts have had to decide who are the 'real' parents. Surrogate Motherhood Cases2 In the famous 'Baby M' case,3 biological parentage was not at issue. William Stem was the child's biological father, and Mary Beth Whitehead her biolog- ical mother. Rather, the issue was whether signing a surrogacy agreement deprived Ms. Whitehead of the status of 'mother', even though she carried and gave birth to her own genetic child. In another well-known case, Johnson v. Calvert,4 the biology was more complicated because the surrogate, Anna Johnson, gestated an embryo created by the Calverts. Ms. Johnson was the

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