ABSTRACT
Increasing numbers of children are being born as a result of techniques involving medically assisted reproduction.1 Where a couple’s own sperm and ova are used to achieve pregnancy, there is no separation of genetic and social parentage. In these cases, medical assistance is merely a tool used to achieve pregnancy and the involvement of medical technocrats2 is simply an incident in the parents’ life.3 Where donated gametes are used, the link between genetic and social parentage is partially broken; with embryo donation, there is no link between genetic and social parentage. Medical assistance involving donation is not simply an incident in the parents’ life but has long term implications for them and for any resulting children. Medically assisted reproduction changes human relations and what has traditionally been the family – children with one mother and father, with adoption providing an accepted anomaly.4 The techniques available mean that a child could have up to six different ‘parents’: a genetic mother or mothers (cells from two women can create one egg);5 a gestating mother; a social mother; a genetic father; and a social father. Recognition and respect needs to be given to the roles which different people may perform in a child’s life.
