Human Dignity and Female Infertility

 “The value of life and the dignity of the person stand at the centre of the moral and cultural universe, and if they are degraded or disregarded, we have lost our moral foundation.” (Shannon, 1997) By affirming the importance of the above-quoted text, this study challenges the often prevailing cultures and structures that promote discrimination and abuse of women due to infertility issues. It focuses on ethical questions about  infertility, particularly female infertility in its multifaceted dimensions. The physical, emotional and ethical challenges of women with infertility issues must be taken seriously if the fundamental moral values of dignity and rights of women are to be respected. The fact that in Nigeria, as in other African contexts, infertility takes a particular toll on women, affecting them in ways that are unique to their experience, makes this research important and timely. This dissertation explores the above mentioned complex aspect of female vulnerability and advances sustainable ethical solutions through critical engagement with Martha Nussbaum's Capability approach framework and Catholic Moral Teaching on infertility.

 Female Infertility, a form of vulnerability

Research Concerns

►This study aims to contribute to the theological-ethical discussion about the dignity and rights of women with fertility problems in the Nigerian context.

►It seeks to develop a dignity-centered ethics of infertility.

►It aims to make Martha Nussbaum's capabilities approach fruitful for theological ethics and socio-ethical engagement in Nigeria to address women's vulnerability due to infertility.

 

 

Research Questions

►The overarching research question underpinning this research project is: What can Catholic Moral Theology learn from a critical engagement with Martha Nussbaum’s capability approach to identify sound ethical criteria for addressing the difficult situations of women facing infertility in Nigeria? Other sub questions include: 

 ►What  can the capability approach  contribute  to a theologico- ethical inquiry on  female vulnerability due to infertility? 

 ►How does female infertility challenge the dignity and rights of women in the Nigerian/African context?

 ►What solutions are available for female infertility in Nigeria, and how does it relate to teenage pregnancies? 

 ► How does theological ethics deal with the mounting increase of female infertility?

 

Research Method

This dissertation begins with an extensive literature review. It provides a critical analysis of all recent empirical research studies on infertility in the Nigerian context, as well as of Martha Nussbaum's capability approach. I will then adopt a synthetic approach to provide a systematic theological and ethical evaluation of the questions raised. It is also important to note that I will use descriptive and hermeneutic techniques to explain the intercultural dimensions of the capability approach and ethical traditions in the Nigerian context.

Literature

Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. Instruction, Dignitas Personae in AAS 100 (2008) 858-887. Vatican, 2008.

Hollos, Marida. "Profiles of Infertility in Southern Nigeria: Women’s Voices from Amakiri". African Journal of Reproductive Health Vol.7, no. 2 (2003): 46–56.

Nussbaum, Martha C.  Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press, 2011.

Shannon,Thomas A.  An Introduction to Bioethics, 3rd Edition. New York: Paulist Press, 1997.

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