Assisted Reproductive Technology and the Family

Authors

John A. Robertson

Abstract

In his Article, Professor Robertson addresses policy issues related to the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) and the industry which they have spawned. The Article identifies four major areas of policy issues relating to ARTs: medical efficacy, access to ARTs, legal infrastructure, and regulation. The Article focuses on the latter two: legal infrastructure and regulation.

Professor Robertson contends that, although ARTs can be used to form families that differ from the traditional notion of a family (in which children are produced coitally and are genetically related to both parents), ARTs should not be seen as a threat to this tradition because the most common goal of ARTs is to produce children biologically related to at least one of the parents. Thus, the process of creating a family should be treated equally regardless of whether ARTs are used.

Professor Robertson explores the need for the development of legal infrastructure to deal with disputes that can arise from ARTs. The two paradigmatic situations that arise are disputes between the parties who provide gametes over their disposition, and disputes between the gamete providers and the program or organization providing the ART concerning ownership and control of the gametes or their products. The author also reviews the current system for regulating the provision of ARTs and discusses whether further efforts at regulation are desirable and how such efforts might be structured.

Recommended Citation

John A. Robertson, Assisted Reproductive Technology and the Family, 47 Hastings L.J. 911 (1996).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_law_journal/vol47/iss4/1