Nuclear Families

Mitochondrial Replacement Techniques and the Regulation of Parenthood

Bibliographic Data

ID5337380
AuthorsC Mills (0000-0003-1684-418X, Monash Bioethics Centre, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume46
Issue3
Pages507-527
Publication date2021-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScience Technology & Human Values (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0162-2439 • E-ISSN: 1552-8251
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0162243920934542
OpenAlexW3030429066
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited27

Since mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRT) were developed and clinically introduced in the United Kingdom (UK), there has been much discussion of whether these lead to children borne of three parents. In the UK, the regulation of MRT has dealt with this by stipulating that egg donors for the purposes of MRT are not genetic parents even though they contribute mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to offspring. In this paper, I examine the way that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act in the UK manages the question of parentage. I argue that the Act breaks the link typically made between genetic causation and genetic parenthood by redefining genetic causation solely in terms of nuclear genetics. Along with this, mtDNA is construed as a kind of supplement to the nuclear family. Drawing on the account of the supplement developed by Jacques Derrida, I argue that mtDNA and the women who donate it are seen as both essential to establishing the nuclear family but also exterior to and insignificant for it

Biology · Causation · Gene · Genealogy · Mitochondrial DNA · Nuclear family · Offspring · Political science · Pregnancy · Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare · History · Law · Organ Donation and Transplantation · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Genetics

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