ABSTRACT
The European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine is a landmark in the regulation of assisted conception. Assisted conception services will be affected by Article 18, which specifically addresses research on embryos in vitro. This states that: where the law allows research on embryos in vitro, it shall ensure adequate protection of the embryo; and the creation of human embryos for research purposes is prohibited. This chapter discusses the therapeutic research in assisted conception (TRAC) project to look at the question of TRAC from three perspectives: those of research, ethics and law. The project brought together clinicians, embryologists, lawyers and ethicists and their first task was to agree a definition of therapeutic research and other types of research, which would provide the background to discussion at two workshops. The first looks at current issues and the second focuses on future avenues of research, their ethics and regulation.
