ABSTRACT
In recent years considerable ethical and legal problems have arisen because of the development of medical techniques of initiating pregnancy other than by sexual intercourse. There is great legal, moral and religious controversy over these matters and opinions vary widely from country to country and from religion to religion. Some countries have introduced legislation to ban or to control these practices, while others have not. In the UK, the Human Fertilization and Embryology Act (1990) sought to place all of these techniques, but particularly in-vitro fertilization and research on embryos, into a legal framework.
