SMER’s Ethics Day on December 5th 2024 will be devoted to assisted reproduction and early life technologies. We will discuss the ethical implications of current and future reproductive technologies with leading researchers and experts from Sweden and abroad.
Please note: The seminar will be conducted in English.
Watch the video from the conference.
It has been 13 years since the Swedish National Council on Medical Ethics (SMER) last issued an opinion on various methods of assisted reproduction. Since then, the field has seen significant advancement, in terms of scientific progress as well as in legislation.
Intensive research is being done to develop technologies to improve the chances of having children for those facing infertility. In recent years, uterine transplants have emerged as a viable option in several parts of the world. Experiments are also underway to extract gametes from tissue or pluripotent cells (such as skin cells) using in vitro gametogenesis (IVG) technology. Additionally, artificial wombs are being developed that could potentially support partial foetal development.
Reproductive technology has also grown into a global industry, with fertility tourism now a rising trend. Couples and single people can now access methods abroad that are either unavailable or not permitted in Sweden. Through the Internet, they can select donors for their future children from assisted reproduction clinics and egg and sperm banks. Furthermore, more people are opting to freeze their eggs at a young age to increase their chances of having children later in life. Surrogacy and the selection of embryos based on traits like gender are permitted in some countries.
In Sweden, the conversation around these issues has evolved from the cautious stance of the 1990s to a more open approach. The legislation has changed accordingly. Since 2016, single women have had access to assisted reproduction, and in 2019 the requirement for a genetic link between parent and child was removed, permitting double donations (the simultaneous donation of both eggs and sperm) and the donation of fertilised eggs. Since then, private IVF clinics have also been allowed to offer egg and sperm donation as part of IVF treatment.
This rapid progress raises many ethical questions and dilemmas. What are the key medical, psychological, legal, and societal consequences of today’s and tomorrow’s reproductive technologies, in Sweden and abroad? How far should we go in developing these methods? What is the significance of social and biological parenthood, and what about a child’s right to know their genetic origins? How many children should a single donor be allowed to produce? How will society and family dynamics be impacted by these technologies and their associated legal frameworks? What are the most urgent issues to address right now in Sweden, the Nordic region, and the EU?
Programme
9.00 Introduction
9.00-9.05 Welcome
Sven-Eric Söder, Chair of the Swedish National Council on Medical Ethics
9.05-9.20 Uterus transplantation from research to clinical practice
Pernilla Dahm Kähler, Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg
9.20-9.35 Third-party reproduction in the Swedish context: Current legislation and its consequences
Jenny Gunnarsson Payne, Professor Ethnolgy, Department for Historical and Contemporary Studies, Södertörn University, Stockholm
Q&A
09.45-11.45 Surrogacy
Chair: Mikael Sandlund, Expert member of the Swedish National Council on Medical Ethics
9.50-10.20 Families through surrogacy: The psychological outcomes for parents, children, and surrogates
Susan Golombok, Professor emerita of Family Research at the University of Cambridge, and former director of the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge
10.20-10.50 Nordic perspectives
– Kati Myllymäki, Chair of the Finish Ethics council
– Håvard Øritsland Eggestøl, Senior advisor at the Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board
– Martin Ejsing Christensen, Senior advisor at the Danish Ethics Council
10.50-11.15 Discussion
11.15-11.45 Coffee break
11.45-13.00 Current discussions concerning gamete donation and Medically Assisted Reproduction
Chair: Lilas Ali, Expert member of the Swedish National Council on Medical Ethics
11.50-12.05 Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing – consequences for donor-related people
Claudia Lampic, Professor, Department of Psychology, Umeå University
12.05-12.20 Motherhood through assisted reproduction – motives for single women’s decision
Helena Volgsten, Senior lecturer and associate professor at the Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University
12.20-12.35 Egg and sperm donation in a private setting
Anna Karin Lind, Medical Director, Livio, Sweden
12:35-13.00 Discussion
13.00-13.40 Lunch
13.40-15.15 In Vitro Gametogenesis – Ethics and future policy
Chair: Åsa Gyberg Karlsson, Political member of the Swedish National Council on Medical Ethics
13.45-14.15 In Vitro Gametogenesis: what questions should be asking?
Stephen Wilkinson, Distinguished Professor of Bioethics at Lancaster University, Principal Investigator of the Wellcome-funded Future of Human Reproduction project, member of the Nuffield Council of Bioethics
14.15-14.30 What might we learn about children conceived using in-vitro derived gametes from children born by assisted reproduction?
Susan Golombok, Professor emerita of Family Research at the University of Cambridge, and former director of the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge
14.30-14.45 Comments
Santa Slokenberga, Associate professor in Medical Law, Uppsala University
14.45-15.15 Discussion
15.15-15.45 Coffee break
15.45-17.00 Artificial wombs
Chair: Sofia Nilsson, Political member of the Swedish National Council on Medical Ethics
15:50-16:10 Artificial wombs: Scientific background
Elisenda Eixarch, associate professor at the BCNatal Fetal Medicine Research Center, Hospital Clínic and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona
16:10-16:25 Artificial wombs: Ethical and legal aspects
Chloe Romanis, Associate Professor in Biolaw, Durham University
16:25-16:35 Comments
Tesi Aschan, Legal adviser at the National Board of Health and Welfare
Anders Castor, Chair of the Medical Ethics Delegation within the Swedish Society of Medicine, expert member of the Swedish National Council on Medical Ethics
16.35-17.00 Discussion
17.00 Closing remarks
Sven-Eric Söder, Chair of the Swedish National Council on Medical Ethics