From a 'bundle of joy' to a person with sorrow: Disenfranchised grief for the donor-conceived adult. QUT Applied Ethics Seminar Series

Rose, Joanna S. (2001) From a 'bundle of joy' to a person with sorrow: Disenfranchised grief for the donor-conceived adult. QUT Applied Ethics Seminar Series .

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Abstract

This paper examines of the notion of disenfranchised grief for donor-conceived adults. Robinson (2000) describes disenfranchised grief as grief which is: not recognized and supported by the community…. The mourners whose grief is disenfranchised are, by virtue of this, cut off from the social supports and so have few opportunities to express and resolve their feelings….either the relationship is not recognized, the loss is not recognized or the griever is not recognized…Significant losses can occur even when the object of the loss it still alive (p. 127). This paper argues that for a variety of reasons, which will be explored, such disenfranchisement is common for many donor-conceived adults. Those adults who grieve as a result of the intentional separation, and loss of nurturing and identity forming relationships with their biological relatives due to their donor conceptions. It is also proposed that though information and contact may become possible for a rare few donor-conceived adults (with their paternal family and siblings), there still are significant losses, which have been ‘created’, and are most commonly disenfranchised.

Item Type:	Other
Status:	Unpublished
Keywords:	grief, donor offspring, disenfranchised grief, kinship, sperm donation, loss, denial, adoption, reproductive technology, ethics,, donor-offspring
Subjects:	370000 Studies in Human Society > 370100 Sociology > 370107 Social Change
ID Code:	737
Deposited By:	Rose, Joanna
Deposited On:	10 February 2005
Alternative Locations:	http://www.socialchange.qut.edu.au/
Copyright Owner:	Copyright 2001 (please consult author)
Additional Information:	This paper was delivered as a seminar for the QUT Centre for Applied Ethics. This centre is now part of the QUT Centre for Social Change Research. For more information about the Centre, please refer to there website (link above)