Assisted Reproduction
Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are the methods used to achieve pregnancy by artificial or partially artificial means. Access to assisted reproduction concerns our ability to expand our right to health by offering us access to treatment to overcome infertility.
To measure the degree of reproductive freedom granted by law, we identified three areas of measurement:
Key ARTs that have been developed to treat infertility. We selected six ARTs: prenatal diagnosis; oocyte and embryo cryopreservation; sperm and oocyte donation; and IVF surrogacy;
Key legal requirement that may prevent certain infertile women from accessing the ARTs selected for measurement. We identified three key requirements that may limit reproductive freedom. These are: the requirement to be married or, in absence, to be in a stable relationship with a significant other, and the requirement for couples to be in a heterosexual relationship;
Key legal restrictions of freedom of the treating physician to perform the chosen ARTs freely. We identified one restriction: the legal requirement that, in the event the patient elects IVF, the physician transfers a number of pre-embryos determined by law.
Data were collected from the following sources:
H.W. Jones and J. Cohen, International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS), Surveillance, Vol. 81, No. 5, Suppl. 4, Fertility and Sterility | “BioPlocywiki, “Surrogacy”, http://www.biopolicywiki.org/index.php?title=Surrogacy (last modified on June 24, 2009). | GayLawNet, “Laws”, http://www.gaylawnet.com/laws/laws.htm | The ESHRE Working Group on Oocyte Cryopreservation in Europe, F. Shenfield, J. de Mouzon, G. Scaravelli, M. Kupka, A.P. Ferraretti, F.J. Prados, V. Goossens; Oocyte and ovarian tissue cryopreservation in European countries: statutory background, practice, storage and use, Human Reproduction Open, Volume 2017, Issue 1, 29 March 2017, hox003, https://doi.org/10.1093/hropen/hox003
