„Mater semper certa est”? Medycyna a kwestia rodzicielstwa

Abstract

Not only contemporary Family Law of so called western civilization but also entire law systems or even cultural systems of many societies (e.g. matrylinear Triobrands) are based on a belief that parenthood is certain from mother’s side. Medical advancements in in vitro insemination and constantly enhancing knowledge about genes made this arbitrary assumption questionable. Achievements of medical science in the field of parenthood experiments force us to redefine that term and take a closer look at social consequences of its current ambiguousness. Medical progress leaves the law behind which creates solutions that are questionable from the ethical standpoint. Moreover changes in the meaning and contents of the term family also leave the ones who are the most interested behind as well – what should be done when a newborn child has different genetic parents, different mother who gave birth, different upbringing parents and different ones under alimony obligations? What if each one of those parents claims newborn’s rights. And what if parents of those “parents” want to be the child’s grandparents…? The article below is an attempt to answer the question on possibilities to lawfully regulate parenthood matters and outline possible social consequences of such situations