The Legal and Ethical Debates in Embryo Selection

Abstract

This chapter calls for a reflection on the legal and ethical aspects of embryo selection in reproduction, tracing the beginnings of the global problems of infertility and the brief advent of ARTs and other forms of prenatal testing technologies into the reproductive landscape. I surmise in this chapter that the quest for bearing a child free of diseases has led to the concept of perfection, and why reproductive technologies like PGS and PGD have gained increasing importance. In highlighting the regulatory or legal pronouncements that govern PGS and PGD in the selected jurisdictions for the book, I identify the main debates that dominate the discourse of embryo selection and potential genetic interventions that have, and shall continue to shape the framework of regulation in the various jurisdictions. These debates have been categorized into the political and socio-legal or legal debates; the religious and cultural debates; and the ethical and philosophical debates.