Title: Response to the consultation document of Professor S.McLean
Authors: D Blood
Journal: Human Reproduction, 13 (9): 2654-2656, 1998
Title: The right to an heir in the era of assisted reproduction
Authors: A Benshushan and JG Schenker
Journal: Human Reproduction, 13 (5): 1407-1410, 1998
The latest remarkable technological advances in assisted reproduction, which enable cryopreservation of spermatozoa, embryos and ovarian tissue, raise difficult and debatable legal, social, ethical and moral issues concerning the right to posthumous reproduction. Furthermore, reports on the attitudes of the general public and of centres licensed for infertility treatment in the United Kingdom found that the majority of women and centres support the idea of posthumous reproduction. In this paper we review the data published on this issue, and after considering the various aspects, we conclude that each case should be discussed and authorized by a multidisciplinary committee that includes physicians, clergy, psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists and other appropriate parties. In our opinion, the main principles that should guide this committee would allow posthumous reproduction in the context of marriage when a prior consent exists. For unmarried persons, post-mortem donation of gametes should be done only anonymously, if they are in agreement with existing laws concerning infertility treatments in every country and after appropriate consent and proper counselling. Moreover, any case which involves consanguinity or a possibility of incest should be forbidden, both for ethical and genetic reasons. In a case of pre-existing siblings, they should be consulted and their informed consent should be granted in advance so as to avoid legal problems in the inheritance of property.
Key words: ethical aspects/legal aspects/legislation/posthumous reproduction/post-mortem sperm procurement
Title: Pregnancy following intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment with dead husband's spermatozoa: ethical and policy considerations
Authors: KK Ahuja, J Mamiso, G Emmerson, P Bowen-Simpkins, A Seaton and EG Simons
Journal: Human Reproduction, 12 (6): 1360-1363, 1997
This paper describes the first pregnancy in a childless widow after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment with her deceased husband's spermatozoa which had been stored for nearly 3 years before use. Before his death the husband had received treatment for testicular cancer and he had given the appropriate written consent for the future use of his spermatozoa. Of the 10 eggs injected, six resulted in normal embryos. Three embryos were transferred and the remaining three embryos are currently stored for possible future use. The treatment resulted in a continuing singleton pregnancy. The case demonstrated the suitability of ICSI in those difficult cases where the sperm quality is extremely poor. This success is also compared with a widely debated case of another widow who was refused permission to use her deceased husband's spermatozoa. It is concluded that in the case of posthumous use of frozen spermatozoa, the current laws are conveniently applicable in a chronic illness but not so in an acute illness leading to death. In the light of the wide public debate on the issues raised by this legal case, the UK Government has also decided to conduct a review of consent procedures involving the storage and use of genetic material. Keywords: consent/ethics/ICSI/posthumous use of gametes/testicular cancer
Title: Posthumous assisted reproduction (PAR): cancer patients, potential cases, counselling and consent
Authors: G Bahadur
Journal: Human Reproduction, 11 (12): 2573-2575, 1996.
Title: Buy baby: the European union and regulation of human reproduction
Authors: TK Hervey Journal: Oxford
Journal of Legal Studies, 18 (2): 207-234, 1998
In its decision in ex parte Blood the Court of Appeal relied on European Community (EC) law to hold that the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority had acted unlawfully in taking its decision to prevent Mrs Blood from exporting sperm taken from her dying husband without his written consent. The Blood case raises the issue of the extent to which EC law may affect the regulation of human reproduction in the Member States. Responding to fears that such national regulation might by 'swept away' by the commodifying nature of EC law, this article considers the scope of the potential application of EC law to regulation of human reproduction. The cautious conclusion is that, while there may be some increase in deregulatory pressures, the 'vertical relationship' of supreme EC law to national law may turn out to be less significant than 'horizontal relationships' between policy-makers within and between the EU and its Member States