Male Pregnancy
The issue of male pregnancy is one of the most controversial and disputable ones in the society. On the one hand, the creation of a possibility for the males to deliver children will be a great innovation in the field of science and medicine. It will also help the homosexual couples resolve the problem of having children. On the other hand, it significantly contradicts the nature and may have a lot of negative consequences for the males as well as their potential children. Moreover, the research and experiments in this sphere require a lot of financial expenditures, and it may seem to be senseless to invest the huge amount of money into this issue while there are women who may bring children without all these wastes. However, there are a lot of proponents of the male pregnancy who are interested in the development of the research in this sphere. Therefore, in order to decide whether the practice of male pregnancy is necessary and may have the positive results in future, it is necessary to consider this issue in details and to describe what is already known in this field and to consider the probable results in details. However, in my personal opinion, the experiments with male pregnancy should not be approved.
Now, the male pregnancy is only at its experimental stage and is not the practice accessible to everyone. The most famous and sensational experiment, which is currently in process, is the experiment with Mr. Lee who is the first male to whose abdominal cavity the embryo was introduced with the aim to be developed into the fetus who may be delivered and become a full-fledged individual. This experiment should be described in details.
In order to fertilize the male's body, the in vitro fertilization method was used. The embryo and placenta were put into the abdominal cavity, namely, the peritoneum. The first step of this process was the female hormones taken by the patient in order to become receptive to the pregnancy. Due to the in vitro fertilization techniques, an ectopic pregnancy was induced as the embryo and placenta were implanted into the peritoneum. This creates a high risk of massive bleeding due to the rupturing of the ectopic. However, this risk exists also in the female pregnancy and it even may cause woman's death. When the process of the implantation was completed, the patient stopped using the hormones because the pregnancy actually occurred. There is no need to take hormones because the embryo produces enough hormones in order to maintain its own development and growing. It may be very surprising, but the pregnancy proceeds normally. The examination of the fetus's state and Mr. Lee's health confirms that the fetus grows normally and Mr. Lee's stomach enlarges. Delivery is expected in the nearest future and it will require the Cesarean section. This is the kind of the open surgery aimed at removing an infant and the placenta. It poses a serious danger because there is a quite close connection with the surrounding vessels and it may lead to the massive bleeding. Moreover, the further growth of the fetus may require additional measures such as removing some parts of organs, and it will also be a great danger and have a wide range of different negative consequences.
Such kind of pregnancy may represent the high level of danger also for the baby. Being posed not in the womb that is the fetus's natural protector, the fetus is in the unusual position and is exposed to the unnatural pressures, which cause incorrect formation of the limbs and organs. There is also a danger of the premature delivery being caused by the abdominal pain or a rip in the amnion (the membrane that surrounds the fetus).
Some scientists make the attempts to create artificial wombs by means of growing females' uterus cells in special conditions. However, the research in this sphere is only in the initial stage, and it is not known whether it will have the expected effects and what the side effects will be.
The main question, which arises on the basis of the above mentioned facts about probable dangers to which the male's body may be exposed, is whether it is a scientifically rational and necessary experiment. Some philosophers state that the male fertility is not something unnatural because the male pregnancy occurs in some species of animals (for example, fishes), and if the male's organism does not reject the fetus, it cannot be stated that the introduction of the embryo to the male's organism is something unnatural and may lead to dangerous consequences. Moreover, as these philosophers state, the risks and dangers during the pregnancy also exist for the females. Therefore, the assumption that the risks are not connected with the person's sex can be made. Furthermore, as it is known, the male's body also produces the female hormones, and sometimes the amount of these hormones is even excessive. It allows assuming that the male's body is not the inappropriate environment for the fetus's development.
Analyzing the facts about the experiment with the male pregnancy, it may be assumed that the research in the field of male pregnancy is very dangerous and contradicts the human nature. Of course, it is a very interesting scientific experiment, but it should not be repeated. People should realize that this experiment does not represent the real essential value. It does not resolve the problems of mortal diseases and does not find measures to cure or predict them. It does not improve the human nature and does not lead to the extension of people's lives. This experiment is just the way to satisfy the people's interest whether a male can become pregnant and deliver a child. One experiment should be enough, and if it fails, the scientists should not repeat it with another patient. However, the same concerns the case if the experiment is successful and does not bring any negative consequences. I am deeply committed to the natural way of bringing children, and if it is prescribed by the nature that the children should be produced by means of participation of two individuals of different sexes, it should be so. It would be better to spend the resources on something more useful and essentially needed and conduct the research in such significant spheres as cancer treatment or finding the ways to cure and eliminate HIV/AIDS.
Speaking about the moral aspect of the issue of the mail pregnancy, there are two main controversial points of view. The opponents of the male pregnancy state that everything that contradicts the nature and violates the nature's laws may be regarded as the crime because the crime itself is the law violation. However, the proponents of the male pregnancy state that the possibility to incubate and deliver children given to the men will significantly increase the level of morality within the society and will help resolve the gender conflict. When a men cognizes how difficult it is to deliver a child, he will understand women better and will be more respectful for women and their social role.
To summarize, I would like to mention that the issue of male pregnancy provokes a lot of disputes among scientists and in the society on the whole. On the one hand, it is an interesting experiment aimed at finding out whether the male body is able to fertilize and deliver children. On the other hand, it conflicts the nature, which has created two sexes, and the female sex is the optimal one for the pregnancy and labor. In addition, this experiment is very dangerous and may have a wide range of serious (and even fatal) consequences for the male's body as well as for the baby's formation and development. Moreover, the process of the research in this sphere requires a lot of financial and resource expenditures while these costs might serve to solve more essential and necessary problems. Scientists should understand that the experiment with Mr. Lee, which is currently processed, should be the only one and should be considered as the possibility to answer some questions. However, such experiments should not be repeated, especially in case the current one fails.
Scientific activity should not violate the laws established by the nature, but it should promote the nature and improve the natural processes. For example, instead of searching for the ways how to fertilize a male and make him deliver a child, it will be very useful to find the ways to facilitate the female's process of labor and find the most effective and harmless (for the women as well as the babies) ways of facilitating women's excruciating pain during the process of child delivery. Thus, there is a large field where the research is essentially necessary. Would not it be better to deal with more essential issues than people's satisfaction of their curiosity?
