ABSTRACT
The media tend to express opposition to the new reproductive technologies too simplistically, arising either from a religious standpoint or from an inadequate understanding of these technologies. This brief examination makes it clear that it is infinitely more complex to try and answer the question of whether the new reproductive technologies represent a threat or opportunity. This chapter looks at the use of medically assisted conception treatments within a medical, legal and social framework. Using this framework, certain areas of practice have been considered in more detail, namely access to treatments, and the treatments themselves. The chapter concludes that there is a potential for prejudicial professional practice and policies to develop; that critical awareness of the social context of developments in the new reproductive technologies is essential to counteract this; and that the separate influences of the medical, legal and social frameworks can be diluted or reinforced when they interweave with each other.
