পরিকল্পিত শিশু: প্রাচীন ধারণা থেকে সমকালিন বাস্তবতা

Planned baby: From ancient beliefs to contemporary realities

Abstract

Although artificial reproduction is a relatively veryuch contemporary scientific phenomenon, narratives of artificially created life can be traced across mythological, folkloric, and religious traditions. In Indian, Greek, Egyptian cultures, various accounts describe the possibility of generating life through non-natural means. Within medieval European thought, concepts such as the Homunculus and Paracelsus’s (1493-1541) notion of an artificially fashioned human being reflect this long-standing imagination of synthetic creation. In contrast, contemporary developments in biotechnology have transformed such imaginative constructs into a matter of scientific practice. A prominent example is the controversial case of Chinese researcher He Jiankui, who claimed to have produced the world’s first genetically edited babies, thereby igniting global debate. The emergence of artificial reproduction raises profound ethical, legal, and social questions. Issues such as the sanctity of life, bioethical responsibility, human dignity, moral accountability, and social justice have come to the forefront of scholarly and policy discourse. Consequently, many countries have enacted legal and regulatory frameworks to govern reproductive technologies. Nonetheless, widespread ethical consensus remains elusive, as societal acceptance of such practices is far from universal. The unresolved moral tensions underscore the uncertain trajectory of humanity’s engagement with artificial reproduction.