Reproductive Technologies and the Law

Book excerpt: Since the first edition of Reproductive Technologies and the Law was published, the field of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) has advanced, matured, stabilized and stalled. Now that more than five million children have been born via ART, and nearly three out of every 100 babies born in the United States are the product of assisted conception, the impact and import of the field cannot be overstated. The second edition invites readers to explore the origins of assisted conception and then trace its development to the present day. Reproductive Technologies and the Law is designed to introduce our students to the essentials in science, medicine, law and ethics that underpin and shape each of the topics that combine to form the law of reproductive technologies. The second edition contains an array of new cases, statutes, policies, and commentaries. As each new technology is introduced, an effort is made to fully inform the reader about the clinical application of the technique; that is, how the procedure is used to treat patients facing infertility or produce advances in medical research. Once comfortable with the science, students can then contemplate the legal parameters that do or should accompany the technology. As more ART laws arise on the legal landscape, and demand for the technologies grows, so too will the need for informed practitioners who can represent the interests and needs of each stakeholder in the complicated equation. This book also is available in a three-hole-punched, alternative loose-leaf version printed on 8.5 x 11 inch paper with wider margins and with the same pagination as the hardbound book.