Official Title:
Family Building at Advanced Parental Age: An Interdisciplinary Approach
For decades, the average age at which people in Western countries start families has been rising. In addition to medical and sociological questions, this trend raises ethical questions such as “What defines ‘good parenthood’?”; “When is someone too old to start a family?”; “To what extent is it fair and meaningful to consider age?” We examine the moral rights and responsibilities of the parties involved (deontological points) and simultaneously consider their well-being, including the well-being of the child (utilitarian points). In addition to a purely theoretical-normative approach, we also approach the development of late parenthood from an empirical perspective. Through an interview study, we give a voice to those who have experienced late parenthood, exploring their experiences and perspectives. This includes ‘older parents’ with teenagers, young adult children of such parents, fertility doctors, and patients.
The following people are involved in this project:
- Prof. Dr. Veerle Provoost
- Prof. Dr. Guido Pennings
- Kato Verghote
- Steven Piek
- Prof. Dr. Tenzin Wangmo, Dr. Andrea Martani, and Nathalie Neeser from the Institute for Biomedical Ethics at the University of Basel, Switzerland.
