Daily UPSC Mains Question - GS 4 - 21st November 2025
- TPP
- Nov 21
- 4 min read
UPSC GS4 Ethics: Analytical Model Answer on Beginning-of-Life Issues (Bioethics).
If you missed Monthly Current Affairs Pointers (CAP) | Sept - Oct 2025, read it here.
QUESTION
“Beginning of life issues pose some of the most complex ethical dilemmas in contemporary society. Analyse the major ethical concerns involved in reproductive technologies, embryo handling, and maternal–fetal rights.”
Answer: Beginning-of-life issues refer to the ethical questions that arise around the creation, development, and early stages of human life. These include decisions related to conception, fertility treatments, embryo creation and selection, abortion, genetic interventions, and maternal–fetal rights. They challenge society to balance reproductive autonomy, the moral status of the embryo or fetus, technological possibilities, and broader social responsibilities.
1. Abortion
Abortion involves ending a pregnancy before the fetus becomes viable.
The core ethical dilemma arises from the tension between a woman’s bodily autonomy and the moral status of the fetus.
International frameworks such as the WHO and UN Women stress non-coercive reproductive healthcare, while the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) protects the rights of children once born but avoids defining fetal personhood.
Moral reasoning requires balancing respect for women’s sovereignty with societal concern for emerging life, ensuring that decisions are informed, voluntary, and grounded in dignity.
2. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the process of fertilising egg and sperm outside the body and transferring the embryo to the uterus.
Ethical dilemmas include the creation of surplus embryos, commercialization of fertility services, and unequal access.
UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Bioethics insists on informed consent, protection of vulnerable individuals, and responsible use of biotechnology.
WHO guidelines emphasize safe ART practices and equity.
Moral reasoning supports IVF when it respects autonomy, avoids exploitation, and ensures transparent, dignified embryo handling.
3. Surrogacy
Surrogacy, where a woman carries a child for another family, raises concerns of exploitation, commodification of the body, and complicated parental claims.
The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) highlights the need to protect surrogate mothers and ensure clear parentage rights across borders.
Ethical reasoning requires ensuring that surrogacy is voluntary, fairly compensated, medically safe, and that the surrogate’s dignity and agency remain central.
4. Third-Party Reproduction
Third-party reproduction through sperm, egg, or embryo donation creates ethical tensions around anonymity, identity rights of donor-conceived children, and emotional or parental complexity.
The UN CRC underlines the child’s right to identity, including origin.
Reasoning morally demands transparency, safeguarding identity rights, and ensuring donors and recipients give fully informed consent.
5. Embryo Creation, Freezing & Surplus Embryos
Embryo creation, freezing, and surplus embryos present dilemmas involving whether to freeze, donate, or destroy unused embryos, reflecting the deeper debate on moral status of embryonic life.
The Oviedo Convention prohibits creating embryos solely for research and promotes dignity and respect in biomedical practice.
Moral reasoning requires ethically planned embryo creation and clear consent for future use while respecting varying societal beliefs.
6. Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) & Embryo Selection
Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and embryo selection allow screening embryos for genetic diseases before implantation.
The dilemma lies between preventing suffering and risking discriminatory attitudes or eugenic tendencies.
UNESCO and the ISSCR stress limits on genetic selection to avoid enhancement or social discrimination.
Morally, PGD is defensible when used to prevent serious disease but unethical when used for non-medical trait selection.
7. Prenatal Genetic Screening
Prenatal genetic screening assesses fetal health during pregnancy.
Ethical concerns emerge when screening leads to selective abortion, societal pressure toward “genetic perfection,” and stigma against disabilities.
WHO guidelines promote non-directive counselling.
Ethically, screening should be used to empower parents through informed choices, not to promote discriminatory societal norms.
8. Germline Gene Editing
Germline gene editing modifies reproductive cells or embryos so changes pass to future generations.
The ethical dilemma stems from unknown long-term risks, absence of consent from future individuals, and possible inequality through enhancement.
The Oviedo Convention prohibits heritable genetic modification, and the UNESCO Bioethics Declaration warns against interventions that undermine human dignity.
Moral reasoning supports therapeutic intent in the distant future but rejects enhancement and irreversible genetic changes today.
9. “Designer Babies” / Genetic Enhancement
“Designer babies” involve selecting genetic traits beyond disease prevention.
This raises concerns about inequality, child commodification, and widened social divides.
International bodies discourage non-medical trait selection.
Morally, designing children undermines unconditional acceptance and deepens class-based inequality.
10. Embryonic Stem-Cell Research
Embryonic stem-cell research uses early embryos to obtain pluripotent stem cells.
The dilemma is between destroying embryos and generating potentially life-saving therapies.
The ISSCR provides strict ethical limits, emphasising scientific necessity and respect for embryo status.
Ethical reasoning supports research only when done with consent, minimal embryo use, and clear therapeutic purpose.
11. Maternal–Fetal Conflict
Maternal–fetal conflict arises when the pregnant woman’s choices conflict with perceived fetal interests.
WHO & UNAIDS guidelines emphasise women’s autonomy and oppose coercive medical interventions.
Reasoning demands that the woman’s autonomy and dignity remain primary, while fetal interests are weighed compassionately but without overriding her rights.
12. Reproductive Autonomy & Rights
Reproductive autonomy and rights focus on individuals’ freedom to decide whether and how to reproduce.
Ethical tension arises when personal choices meet religious, societal, or state restrictions.
International principles consistently uphold autonomy and freedom from coercion.
Morally, respecting reproductive choice supports dignity and human flourishing.
13. Moral Status & Personhood of the Embryo/Fetus
Moral status and personhood of the embryo/fetus is a foundational debate influencing all beginning-of-life issues.
Since no global consensus exists, conventions like UNESCO emphasize dignity but avoid defining personhood.
Ethical reasoning requires pluralistic respect for differing moral, cultural, and religious views.
14. Artificial Wombs (Ectogenesis)
Artificial wombs (ectogenesis)—gestation outside the human body—may drastically shift ideas of motherhood, parental roles, and reproductive equality.
Ethical questions concern social inequality and potential pressure on women.
International bodies have begun early discussion on regulating such technologies.
Morally, ectogenesis must serve welfare, equality, and autonomy.
15. Sex Selection & Selective Reduction
Sex selection and selective reduction pose issues of gender imbalance, discrimination, and reduced respect for life.
UN conventions and WHO condemn non-medical sex selection.
Moral reasoning rejects sex selection when it perpetuates gender bias or harms social equality.
Advances in reproductive and genetic technologies will continue to reshape the very meaning of life, parenthood, and autonomy. A future-ready ethical framework must remain grounded in human dignity, equity, and global cooperation to guide these powerful innovations responsibly.
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