The Regulation of Assisted Reproductive Technologies in Europe

This book explores the social, ethical and legal implications of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). Providing a comparative analysis of several European countries, the authors evaluate the varied approaches to the application of ART throughout Europe.

Erich Griessler is a sociologist and head of the research group "Science, Technology and Social Transformation" at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), Vienna, Austria. His research interests focus on the social, ethical and legal aspects of life sciences, including genetic testing, assisted reproductive technologies and xenotransplantation as well as responsibility and participation in research and innovation. Lenka Slepi-ková is a sociologist working at the Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Moravia, Czech Republic. Her research interests focus on the fields of health, illness and medicine in connection with reproduction and family, inclusion, marginalization and stigmatization. Heleen Weyers is a researcher at the Department of Transboundary Legal Studies of the Faculty of Law, University of Groningen, The Netherlands. Her research is focused on the coming into being of law (politics), its effects (sociology of law) and the relation between the two. Florian Winkler is a junior researcher in the research group "Science, Technology and Social Transformation" at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, Austria. His research is mainly focused on controversial technologies (such as solar geoengineering, surrogacy or DNA-phenotyping) and the societal processes around them. Nicolle Zeegers is Assistant Professor in Political Science at the Department of Transboundary Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Her research interests include prostitution, assisted reproductive technology and other morality issues in a comparative law and governance perspective.

0.Introduction. 1.Emerging from standstill: Austria's transition from restrictive to intermediate ART policies. 2.Assisted reproduction in the Czech Republic. 3.Taming Technology: Assisted reproduction in Denmark. 4.A Regulatory Jungle: The Law on Assisted Reproduction in Germany. 5.Assisted procreation in Italy: a long and winding road. 6.Avoiding ideological debate. Assisted reproduction regulation in the Netherlands. 7. IVF in Poland: From political debates to biomedical practices. 8.From safeguarding the best interest of the child to equal treatment. Legislating assisted reproductive techniques in Sweden. 9.Expectations regarding the convergence of domestic laws on ART. 10.What drives the politicization of ART in Western and Northern European countries? 11.Regulating change in human procreation. Value changes and imaginaries of Assisted Reproductive Technologies in eight European countries