G Pennings
Biographic Data
| ID | 230165 |
|---|---|
| NAME | G Pennings |
| GIVEN NAMES | G |
| FAMILY NAME | Pennings |
| SIGNATURE | PENNINGS G |
| AFFILIATIONS | Ghent University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0754-8055 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 14 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 24 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Delayed reproduction: A small step in the right direction
The predicted global population increase, despite declining fertility rates in many countries, poses a serious threat by adding to overpopulation, resource depletion and climate change. This paper supports trends that contribute both to ethically valuable goals such as justice and autonomy, and to reduced fertility rates. The primary focus is on universal women’s education as the means to promote both reproductive autonomy and climate mitigation.…
Risk management and the further use of gametes from a donor with a known pathogenic variant
Some donor-conceived persons are born with an autosomal recessive genetic condition. In response, some fertility clinics categorically restrict the further use of the gametes from the donor who transmitted the pathogenic variant, although the chance of recurrence is usually very low. The level of specific risk that a recipient or physician is willing to accept depends on various factors, including severity, lived experiences and personal preferen…
The management of donor information, donor anonymity and family limits by international sperm banks
The moral obligation to have genetically related children
Donor conceived persons are likely to have a lower quality of life than persons who are genetically related to both parents. Empirical evidence is presented to corroborate this point. The evidence is subdivided into three sections: (1) negative experience of the donor conception itself, (2) negative effects of secrecy and openness and (3) negative effects of donor anonymity and donor identifiability. The principle of procreative beneficence requi…
Non-identity problem and the ‘all-things-considered’ moral obligation to have genetically related children
Dr Marcus Teo states that my claim that prospective parents have a moral obligation to have genetically related children is invalid because I have ignored the non-identity problem. He maintains that donor-conceived persons (DCPs) cannot be harmed by their conception, as they would not exist otherwise. However, an analysis of his argument shows that the reason why he does not recognise such moral obligation is not the non-identity problem but his …
Normal for me, not for others: Experiences of young adults born to “advanced‐age” parents
Against age limits for men in reproductive care
Age-based restrictions on reproductive care: Discerning the arbitrary from the necessary
Lowering the age limit of access to the identity of the gamete donor by donor offspring: The argument against
Countries that abolished donor anonymity have imposed age limits for access to certain types of information by donor offspring. In the UK and the Netherlands, a debate has started on whether these age limits should be lowered or abolished all together. This article presents some arguments against lowering the age limits as a general rule for all donor children. The focus is on whether one should give a child the right to obtain the identity of th…
Navigating conflicts of reproductive rights: Unbundling parenthood and balancing competing interests
Advances in assisted reproductive technologies can give rise to several ethical challenges. One of these challenges occurs when the reproductive desires of two individuals become incompatible and conflict. To address such conflicts, it is important to unbundle different aspects of (non)parenthood and to recognize the corresponding reproductive rights. This article starts on the premise that the six reproductive rights—the right (not) to be a gest…
“It was not an accident”: Women’s experiences of renewing motherhood at 40
In recent decades, there has been an increase in motherhood at an advanced age that has raised several medical and social concerns. We conducted a qualitative interview study, guided by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, to focus on the motivations and experiences of Belgian women who 'renewed' their motherhood later in life, meaning they had one or several children and then (at least 10 years later) had another child at the age of 40 or o…
Balancing rules in postmortem sperm donation
Postmortem sperm donation implies the acceptance of a very low sperm quality threshold. This threshold has two important consequences: recipients will have to submit to burdensome and expensive in vitro fertilisation/intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and many more living donors will be accepted, thus making postmortem donors largely superfluous. Given these strong arguments against the use of postmortem collected sperm, a good alternative to enla…
An ethical exploration of pregnancy related mHealth: Does it deliver
Enthusiasm, concern and ambivalence in the Belgian public’s attitude towards in-vitro gametogenesis
The ethics of ectogenesis‐aided foetal treatment
In this paper, we aim to stimulate ethical debate about the morally relevant connection between ectogenesis and the foetus as a potential beneficiary of treatment. Ectogenesis could facilitate foetal interventions by treating the foetus independently of the pregnant woman and provide easier access to the foetus if interventions are required. The moral relevance hereof derives from the observation that, together with other developments in genetic …
Donor insemination disclosure in social networks: Heterosexual couples’ experiences
The way in which heterosexual couples manage information about infertility and donor insemination within their social networks has not yet been explored in-depth. This study focuses on how parents and aspiring parents manage information about infertility and donor insemination within their social networks. Fifteen Belgian couples were interviewed as part of a parenthood research project. Thematic analysis resulted in the identification of four th…
Societal pressures and procreative preferences for gay fathers successfully pursuing parenthood through IVF and gestational carriers
No daddy’, ‘A kind of daddy’: Words used by donor conceived children and (aspiring) parents to refer to the sperm donor
Research has shown that the recipients of donor sperm can experience difficulties finding appropriate language to refer to the donor. Based on two qualitative analysis techniques, namely word count and empirical discourse analysis, we studied the words used to refer to the donor in heterosexual and lesbian (aspiring) parents and in donor conceived children. Findings show that the words used in these households are highly diverse and have at least…
Constructing and enacting kinship in sister-to-sister egg donation families: A Multi-Family Member Interview Study
Although intra-familial egg donation has been practiced for more than 15 years in several countries, little is known about family relationships in this family type. Framed within the new kinship studies, this article focuses on the experiential dimension of kinship in sister-to-sister egg donation families: how is kinship 'unpacked' and 'reconstructed' in this specific family constellation? Qualitative data analysis of interviews with receiving p…
Family Communication About the Donor Conception: A Multi-Perspective Qualitative Study With Lesbian Parents and Their Children
In literature, disclosure of donor conception in lesbian families has been considered an obvious and straightforward event. However, little is known about the ways in which donor conception is discussed in planned lesbian co-mother families. This study focuses on the process of parent-child communication about the donor conception on a within-family level. Six families, including 7 children and 12 parents, were interviewed about their family comm…
Lesbian couples' views about and experiences of not being able to choose their sperm donor
In this qualitative study, we explore how lesbian recipients view and experience the selection of their anonymous sperm donor. The study was conducted in Belgium, where fertility centres follow a legal protocol that severely restricts personal choice in donor selection. While previous studies have shown that recipients want greater control and input in the selection of their sperm donor, this was not a main concern for most women in the present s…
Cross-border reproductive care for law evasion: A qualitative study into the experiences and moral perspectives of French women who go to Belgium for treatment with donor sperm
Cross border reproductive care in six European countries
BACKGROUND: The quantity and the reasons for seeking cross border reproductive care are unknown. The present article provides a picture of this activity in six selected European countries receiving patients. METHODS: Data were collected from 46 ART centres, participating voluntarily in six European countries receiving cross border patients. All treated patients treated in these centres during one calendar month filled out an individual questionna…
Legal Harmonization and Reproductive: Tourism in Europe
Legislation of ethical issues illustrates the uneasy mix of ethics and politics. Although the majority has the political right to express its moral views in the law a number of important ethical values like autonomy tolerance and respect for other people’s opinions urge the majority to take the minorities’ position into account. Ignoring pluralism in society will inevitably lead to reproductive tourism. Although European legislation and harmoniza…
Cross-border reproductive care for law evasion: A qualitative study into the experiences and moral perspectives of French women who go to Belgium for treatment with donor sperm
Constructing and enacting kinship in sister-to-sister egg donation families: A Multi-Family Member Interview Study
Although intra-familial egg donation has been practiced for more than 15 years in several countries, little is known about family relationships in this family type. Framed within the new kinship studies, this article focuses on the experiential dimension of kinship in sister-to-sister egg donation families: how is kinship 'unpacked' and 'reconstructed' in this specific family constellation? Qualitative data analysis of interviews with receiving p…
Family Communication About the Donor Conception: A Multi-Perspective Qualitative Study With Lesbian Parents and Their Children
In literature, disclosure of donor conception in lesbian families has been considered an obvious and straightforward event. However, little is known about the ways in which donor conception is discussed in planned lesbian co-mother families. This study focuses on the process of parent-child communication about the donor conception on a within-family level. Six families, including 7 children and 12 parents, were interviewed about their family comm…
Enthusiasm, concern and ambivalence in the Belgian public’s attitude towards in-vitro gametogenesis
Societal pressures and procreative preferences for gay fathers successfully pursuing parenthood through IVF and gestational carriers
Legal Harmonization and Reproductive: Tourism in Europe
Legislation of ethical issues illustrates the uneasy mix of ethics and politics. Although the majority has the political right to express its moral views in the law a number of important ethical values like autonomy tolerance and respect for other people’s opinions urge the majority to take the minorities’ position into account. Ignoring pluralism in society will inevitably lead to reproductive tourism. Although European legislation and harmoniza…
Legal Harmonization and Reproductive: Tourism in Europe
Legislation of ethical issues illustrates the uneasy mix of ethics and politics. Although the majority has the political right to express its moral views in the law a number of important ethical values like autonomy tolerance and respect for other people’s opinions urge the majority to take the minorities’ position into account. Ignoring pluralism in society will inevitably lead to reproductive tourism. Although European legislation and harmoniza…
Cross border reproductive care in six European countries
BACKGROUND: The quantity and the reasons for seeking cross border reproductive care are unknown. The present article provides a picture of this activity in six selected European countries receiving patients. METHODS: Data were collected from 46 ART centres, participating voluntarily in six European countries receiving cross border patients. All treated patients treated in these centres during one calendar month filled out an individual questionna…
Lesbian couples' views about and experiences of not being able to choose their sperm donor
In this qualitative study, we explore how lesbian recipients view and experience the selection of their anonymous sperm donor. The study was conducted in Belgium, where fertility centres follow a legal protocol that severely restricts personal choice in donor selection. While previous studies have shown that recipients want greater control and input in the selection of their sperm donor, this was not a main concern for most women in the present s…
Cross-border reproductive care for law evasion: A qualitative study into the experiences and moral perspectives of French women who go to Belgium for treatment with donor sperm
Family Communication About the Donor Conception: A Multi-Perspective Qualitative Study With Lesbian Parents and Their Children
In literature, disclosure of donor conception in lesbian families has been considered an obvious and straightforward event. However, little is known about the ways in which donor conception is discussed in planned lesbian co-mother families. This study focuses on the process of parent-child communication about the donor conception on a within-family level. Six families, including 7 children and 12 parents, were interviewed about their family comm…
Constructing and enacting kinship in sister-to-sister egg donation families: A Multi-Family Member Interview Study
Although intra-familial egg donation has been practiced for more than 15 years in several countries, little is known about family relationships in this family type. Framed within the new kinship studies, this article focuses on the experiential dimension of kinship in sister-to-sister egg donation families: how is kinship 'unpacked' and 'reconstructed' in this specific family constellation? Qualitative data analysis of interviews with receiving p…
No daddy’, ‘A kind of daddy’: Words used by donor conceived children and (aspiring) parents to refer to the sperm donor
Research has shown that the recipients of donor sperm can experience difficulties finding appropriate language to refer to the donor. Based on two qualitative analysis techniques, namely word count and empirical discourse analysis, we studied the words used to refer to the donor in heterosexual and lesbian (aspiring) parents and in donor conceived children. Findings show that the words used in these households are highly diverse and have at least…
Societal pressures and procreative preferences for gay fathers successfully pursuing parenthood through IVF and gestational carriers
The ethics of ectogenesis‐aided foetal treatment
In this paper, we aim to stimulate ethical debate about the morally relevant connection between ectogenesis and the foetus as a potential beneficiary of treatment. Ectogenesis could facilitate foetal interventions by treating the foetus independently of the pregnant woman and provide easier access to the foetus if interventions are required. The moral relevance hereof derives from the observation that, together with other developments in genetic …
Donor insemination disclosure in social networks: Heterosexual couples’ experiences
The way in which heterosexual couples manage information about infertility and donor insemination within their social networks has not yet been explored in-depth. This study focuses on how parents and aspiring parents manage information about infertility and donor insemination within their social networks. Fifteen Belgian couples were interviewed as part of a parenthood research project. Thematic analysis resulted in the identification of four th…
An ethical exploration of pregnancy related mHealth: Does it deliver
Enthusiasm, concern and ambivalence in the Belgian public’s attitude towards in-vitro gametogenesis
Balancing rules in postmortem sperm donation
Postmortem sperm donation implies the acceptance of a very low sperm quality threshold. This threshold has two important consequences: recipients will have to submit to burdensome and expensive in vitro fertilisation/intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and many more living donors will be accepted, thus making postmortem donors largely superfluous. Given these strong arguments against the use of postmortem collected sperm, a good alternative to enla…
Against age limits for men in reproductive care
Age-based restrictions on reproductive care: Discerning the arbitrary from the necessary
Lowering the age limit of access to the identity of the gamete donor by donor offspring: The argument against
Countries that abolished donor anonymity have imposed age limits for access to certain types of information by donor offspring. In the UK and the Netherlands, a debate has started on whether these age limits should be lowered or abolished all together. This article presents some arguments against lowering the age limits as a general rule for all donor children. The focus is on whether one should give a child the right to obtain the identity of th…
Navigating conflicts of reproductive rights: Unbundling parenthood and balancing competing interests
Advances in assisted reproductive technologies can give rise to several ethical challenges. One of these challenges occurs when the reproductive desires of two individuals become incompatible and conflict. To address such conflicts, it is important to unbundle different aspects of (non)parenthood and to recognize the corresponding reproductive rights. This article starts on the premise that the six reproductive rights—the right (not) to be a gest…
“It was not an accident”: Women’s experiences of renewing motherhood at 40
In recent decades, there has been an increase in motherhood at an advanced age that has raised several medical and social concerns. We conducted a qualitative interview study, guided by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, to focus on the motivations and experiences of Belgian women who 'renewed' their motherhood later in life, meaning they had one or several children and then (at least 10 years later) had another child at the age of 40 or o…
The management of donor information, donor anonymity and family limits by international sperm banks
The moral obligation to have genetically related children
Donor conceived persons are likely to have a lower quality of life than persons who are genetically related to both parents. Empirical evidence is presented to corroborate this point. The evidence is subdivided into three sections: (1) negative experience of the donor conception itself, (2) negative effects of secrecy and openness and (3) negative effects of donor anonymity and donor identifiability. The principle of procreative beneficence requi…
Non-identity problem and the ‘all-things-considered’ moral obligation to have genetically related children
Dr Marcus Teo states that my claim that prospective parents have a moral obligation to have genetically related children is invalid because I have ignored the non-identity problem. He maintains that donor-conceived persons (DCPs) cannot be harmed by their conception, as they would not exist otherwise. However, an analysis of his argument shows that the reason why he does not recognise such moral obligation is not the non-identity problem but his …
Normal for me, not for others: Experiences of young adults born to “advanced‐age” parents
Delayed reproduction: A small step in the right direction
The predicted global population increase, despite declining fertility rates in many countries, poses a serious threat by adding to overpopulation, resource depletion and climate change. This paper supports trends that contribute both to ethically valuable goals such as justice and autonomy, and to reduced fertility rates. The primary focus is on universal women’s education as the means to promote both reproductive autonomy and climate mitigation.…
Risk management and the further use of gametes from a donor with a known pathogenic variant
Some donor-conceived persons are born with an autosomal recessive genetic condition. In response, some fertility clinics categorically restrict the further use of the gametes from the donor who transmitted the pathogenic variant, although the chance of recurrence is usually very low. The level of specific risk that a recipient or physician is willing to accept depends on various factors, including severity, lived experiences and personal preferen…
Reproductive Health and Technologies (21 works) · Political science (14 works) · Psychology (14 works) · Law (13 works) · Medicine (13 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Pregnancy (9 works) · Population (8 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Assisted Reproductive Technology and Twin Pregnancy (7 works)