Browsing by Author "Shozi, Bonginkosi."

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An Afrocentric approach to CRISPR-Cas9: analysing the use of genetic technologies in human reproduction through the lens of human rights and African values.
(2021) Shozi, Bonginkosi.; Thaldar, Donrich Willem.
In the wake of the advent of genome editing technology CRISPR-Cas9, there has been global debate about the potential use of this technology on human gametes or embryos to create individuals with genetically modified genomes. This is a process commonly referred to as germline genome editing (GGE). Given that several countries, including South Africa (SA), have no regulation speaking to GGE, many proposals have been put forward regarding how this technology ought to be regulated in a way that attends to the ethical issues raised by the prospect of modifying the genomes of future generations. Within this global discourse, however, there are several material gaps. Most notably, the proposals have primarily been framed through a Eurocentric paradigm that omits material contextual considerations relevant to SA and the African continent. Furthermore, the proposals tend to be based on value judgements on ethical issues — such as the moral significance of the human genome — rooted in the Western philosophical tradition. This thesis endeavours to respond to these gaps by providing a novel theoretical approach to the regulation of GGE in South Africa, termed an ‘Afrocentric approach’. This approach entails responding to the legal, ethical and human rights issues related to GGE that is rooted in an African philosophical perspective on these issues, and that is sensitive to the realities of the South African context. This thesis concludes that SA ought to be open to the prospect of parents modifying the genomes of future offspring but must also place reasonable and evidence-based constraints on GGE. This thesis finds that there is a tenable argument that prospective parents have a ‘right to CRISPR’, but this right may be limited. Such limitations must be rationally related to the goals of (1) protecting public interests, or (2) promoting the best interests of the prospective child.
A human rights analysis of posthumous reproduction in South Africa.
(2018) Shozi, Bonginkosi.; Thaldar, Donrich Willem.
Advances in the field of medicine are consistently posing difficult questions to the law and society. This is because of the propensity of these medical advances to alter the limits of what is and is not possible, and when this happens we are forced to decide on how these new medical technologies will be used. It has been said that no use of medical technology poses more challenging questions than posthumous reproduction. This is because in the past, the act of reproduction was limited to living persons. However, now persons can become parents long after they die. This study was prompted by a case that recently came before the High Court, in which a widow sought to use her dead husband’s sperm in order to have a child. The court granted her order, but did not give reasons – thus leaving the rationale behind the decision unknown. This case came before the court because, in the relevant laws, what happens to gametes and embryos after the death of the gamete provider is largely unaddressed. This study looks at the law relating to posthumous reproduction in 30 foreign jurisdictions. This investigation reveals that there is no consensus on regulating posthumous reproduction, and state positions range from highly permissive regulation based on voluntary guidelines, to highly restrictive positions enforced by statutes. In analysing how South African law regards posthumous reproduction, the study finds there are no legal barriers to posthumous reproduction in South Africa, and that human rights related to procreative liberty support posthumous reproduction. The study concludes there is a right to posthumous reproduction, based on the freedom of testation in relation to reproductive material – which our law conceives as property – and reproductive autonomy. However, there are significant gaps in the law in South Africa that ought to be addressed by legislative reform in order to accommodate the exercising of this right.