ABSTRACT
While assisted reproductive technologies have increased parental options for those who can afford them, they pose numerous ethical challenges that the reproductive rights, health and justice communities are only beginning to address. The assisted reproduction field has so far developed largely outside the realm of public policy and with little public discussion about how new technologies should be used and who should have access to them. Public regulation and oversight of the assisted reproduction industry are long overdue and much needed. Continuing to allow the market to dictate how assisted reproduction is developed and used, and continuing to insist that voluntary guidelines are all that are needed, leaves us ethically ill-served and politically vulnerable. Reasonable rules and oversight will make assisted reproduction safer for women, protect the health and rights of all involved, prevent unacceptable uses of the technologies and bolster public trust both in their appropriate uses and in the leadership of the women’s health and provider communities.
