Abstract:
There is a growing demand for human breast milk in many countries, including Australia. A limited number of Australian milk banks provide it to premature and sick infants in hospital settings. However, the evolving and diverse nature of the family structure has seen an increase in parents with healthy infants seeking to source human breast milk from the internet and social media sites. Some adults, too, are seeking human breast milk for their own consumption. These “shadow online markets” are legally and ethically precarious, especially given the potential risks involved in the consumption or provision of unsafe and unscreened human breast milk for human infants.
Against this backdrop, it is striking that the exchange of human breast milk is largely unregulated. There is no unified definition of breast milk in Australian law, and ambiguity about whether it classifies as a “food” or a “tissue” for the purpose of regulation.
In this seminar, we will discuss some of the motivating factors for breast milk donors and recipients in the informal exchange of milk, and the risks and harms involved with the current regulatory vacuum. We hope to address why there is a need to work towards a more formalised definition of human breast milk. We will conclude with some recommendations to ensure safer exchanges of milk, as well as greater accessibility of human breast milk outside of hospital settings.
Speaker Bios:
Neera Bhatia is an Associate Professor at Deakin Law School. She is the Director of the ‘Law, Health, and Society’ (LHS) research centre that critically evaluates health law, policy, regulation, and ethics to improve and advance well-being and health outcomes throughout society. Neera is an internationally recognised health law scholar, committed to public engagement and outreach. She has research interests in end-of-life care for children, organ and tissue donation, the medico-legal dimensions of shaken baby syndrome, and voluntary assisted dying. Her current body of research focuses on emerging biotechnologies and reproductive autonomy, this includes a series of projects examining the regulation of shadow markets in human breast milk, human gametes and other biological materials. Neera’s research considers issues of justice and equity in healthcare and to regulatory reform that improves socio-economic outcomes for individuals, and for vulnerable and marginalised members of the community, particularly LGBT+ communities. She actively engages with the wider community as an expert commentator in the media on topical issues in health law, and her opinion is regularly sought for its intersectionalist viewpoints.
Dr Julian Koplin is a lecturer in bioethics at Monash University. His research and teaching covers ethical issues related to artificial intelligence, organ and tissue transplantation, and controversial markets.
Format: Zoom (link will be sent upon registration)
For any enquiries, please contact Dr Olga Pandos (o.pandos@deakin.edu.au)