1. What are the key perspectives or schools of thought on the debate you are studying?
The short answer is two: those for sperm donation, and those against. However, realistically, the answer is much more complex. I like to think of this issue in terms of a spectrum rather than a clear black or white answer. In a lot of cases, sperm donation only affects a person's life tangentially rather than directly, so it usually does not become a huge issue. Religion, culture, location, and age all have large affects on a person's feelings about sperm donation.
2. What are the major points of contention or major disagreements among these perspectives?
One major point of contention is cost. Some people have issues with compensation of sperm donors, while others believe that creating a child should not have a cost. Another larger scale issue is ethics. Some common ethical questions include: parentage questions, anonymity, what to do with excess embryos, "designer babies," and more.
3. What are possible points of agreement, or common ground, between the sides?
One possible point of common ground is that human material should be handled with respect. Another possible agreement is that the reproductive technology that allows for sperm donation has resulted in human lives that have equal value as the lives of naturally conceived offspring. A third area of common ground could be that the ethical dilemmas of sperm donation deserve attention.
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| "Sperm Donor" from Conceive Easy |
4. What are the ideological differences, if any, between the sides?
The most significant ideological difference is culture. Religion specifically plays a huge role in a person's acceptance or rejection of sperm donation. Age is also important, as people of a childrearing age are more likely to be sympathetic to the cause of sperm donation.
5. What specific actions do their texts or perspectives ask the audience to make?
The texts ask the audience to agree with their perspective. Every article I've read about sperm donation has an underlying agenda. Even the most academic research articles still take a bias either for or against sperm donation. In that way, nearly all of the work published about the subject is persuasive.
6. What perspectives are useful in supporting your own arguments about the issue? Why did you choose these?
To be honest, I have not entirely decided on my own perspective of the issue. For that reason, both sides are equally useful to me. Using both sides will help me make an informed decision and write a balanced piece.
7. What perspectives do you think will be the greatest threat to your argument? Why or why not?
I believe that extreme perspectives will be the greatest threat. These arguments are almost always rooted in emotional rhetoric, and can be very persuasive.
I completely agree with you on the "I believe that extreme perspectives will be the greatest threat. These arguments are almost always rooted in emotional rhetoric, and can be very persuasive." part. It's very easy to counteract extreme arguments, but that doesn't meant it's easy to change the views of people with these extreme opinions. That can be rather tricky. Emotional rhetoric seems to be a doubled edged sword though - an argument made with it can be easily disproved using the same rhetoric, while an argument made by appealing to reason is a lot harder to counteract (by appealing to reason, or any other form of rhetoric).
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