The Impact of Medical Technology on the Pregnant Woman’s Right to Privacy

Abstract

In the context of the bicentennial of the Constitution and science's relationship to society, it has been argued that “the advance of science and technology in the West has changed not only the relation of man to nature but of man to man.“ This seemingly immodest statement may soon prove an understatement. In the arena of human reproduction, the marriage of science and technology in medicine may change not only the relationship of man to nature and man to man, but more significantly, the very concept of what it means to be human. This, in turn, will directly affect how we define the “rights” this “new human” may properly claim.This article begins to explore developing reproductive medical technology with a view toward examining the way it might change our concept of humanness, and how this change might be accommodated, encouraged, or truncated by the relationship between the government and its pregnant citizens as defined by the United States Constitution and the “right to privacy.”