Womb transplants for men; revolution in reproduction poses moral dilemma
A debate over the prospect of transgender women born as boys getting womb transplants to have children was highlighted by a recent report by the Daily Mail.
National Health Service (NHS) doctors in the UK told the Daily Mail they support transgender women’s right to have the procedure and fertility experts say taxpayers should fund these transplants for individuals who identify as women. Dr Francoise Shelfield a clinical lecturer in obstetrics and gynaecology at University College London, believes it is a transgender' right to have equal treatment.
Doctors’ call for action on this comes, as the first female-to-male transsexual to become pregnant in the UK is about to give birth. 21-year-old Hayden Cross was born Paige and put his sex change on hold so he could have a baby.
Implanting a person with male organs with a donor womb is possible and a top doctor believes it will happen in a decade. In a series of pioneering operations at the Gothenburg University in Sweden, five babies have been born to womb-less women after receiving donor wombs since 2014. Dr Alghrani, of Liverpool University believes this success will lead to higher demands for such a transplant. Gay and straight men can even have the experience of carrying a child.
However, critics say the NHS should not waste resources just to have trans-women have the experience of an "authentic female". Laura Perrins, a women's campaigner told the Daily Mail it "will impinge on the meaning of motherhood and womanhood".
In a strongly worded statement by Julie Bindel, a feminist campaigner, she said those who "undergo cosmetic surgery in order to present as female will never be women".
"Trans-women pushing for womb transplants on the NHS are driven by a desire to experience childbirth, because it is considered to be an authentic female experience. But this is not about transgender rights – it’s about a twisted notion as to what constitutes a ‘real woman’," she is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
Making her case over the matter in the Journal of Law, Dr Alghrani, director of Liverpool University’s Health Law & Regulation Unit said the question of publicly funding womb transplants would arise once they are offered. This could "revolutionise reproduction".
