Whittaker Andrea
a School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University , Melbourne , Australia.
Cult Health Sex. 2015;17(8):962-76. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2015.1018947. Epub 2015 Mar 24.
This paper offers a critical discourse analysis of media debate over social sex selection in the Australian media from 2008 to 2014. This period coincides with a review of the National Health and Medical Research Council's Ethical Guidelines on the Use of Assisted Reproductive Technology in Clinical Practice and Research (2007), which underlie the regulation of assisted reproductive clinics and practice in Australia. I examine the discussion of the ethics of pre-implatation genetic diagnosis (PGD) within the media as 'ethical publicity' to the lay public. Sex selection through PGD is both exemplary of and interconnected with a range of debates in Australia about the legitimacy of certain reproductive choices and the extent to which procreative liberties should be restricted. Major themes emerging from media reports on PGD sex selection in Australia are described. These include: the spectre of science out of control; ramifications for the contestation over the public funding of abortion in Australia; private choices versus public authorities regulating reproduction; and the ethics of travelling overseas for the technology. It is concluded that within Australia, the issue of PGD sex selection is framed in terms of questions of individual freedom against the principle of sex discrimination - a principle enshrined in legislation - and a commitment to publically-funded medical care.
本文对2008年至2014年澳大利亚媒体关于社会性别选择的媒体辩论进行了批判性话语分析。这一时期恰逢对澳大利亚国家卫生与医学研究委员会《临床实践和研究中辅助生殖技术使用的伦理准则》（2007年）的审查，该准则是澳大利亚辅助生殖诊所和实践监管的基础。我将媒体中关于植入前基因诊断（PGD）伦理的讨论视为面向普通大众的“伦理宣传”进行审视。通过PGD进行性别选择既是澳大利亚一系列关于某些生殖选择的合法性以及生育自由应在多大程度上受到限制的辩论的典型代表，又与之相互关联。文中描述了澳大利亚媒体关于PGD性别选择报道中出现的主要主题。这些主题包括：科学失控的幽灵；对澳大利亚堕胎公共资金争议的影响；私人选择与公共当局对生殖的监管；以及出国获取该技术的伦理问题。结论是，在澳大利亚，PGD性别选择问题是围绕个人自由问题与性别歧视原则——一项载入立法的原则——以及对公共资助医疗保健的承诺展开的。
