The A, B, Cs (along with CDCs and FDAs) of Regulatory Implications over Assisted Reproductive Technology

Brief History of Assisted Reproductive Technology

In the United States, there is an ever-present and growing need for assisted reproduction, as nearly 10 percent of women (6.1 million) ages 15 to 44 have difficulty getting pregnant or staying pregnant.¹  Yet, as science and medicine advance, assisted reproductive technology² (ART) continues to change how people plan and grow their families.

According to the American Bar Association’s Guide to Assisted Reproduction: Techniques, Legal Issues, and Pathways to Success (ABA Guide), ART, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), is considered one of the top medical advancements in the past 65 years, on par with the creation of antibiotics, forever changing the way people create families. It is now possible that a pregnant woman can carry and give birth to her child without having provided the genetics (egg donation); a couple can have a child who is carried by the mother but is genetically related to neither parent (embryo donation); a couple can have a child to whom they are both genetically related yet a third party gives birth to the child (gestational surrogacy),³ just to name a few of these possibilities.