ABSTRACT
Access to Access to methods of artificial reproduction such as in vitro fertilization cannot be justified by reference to an alleged right to reproduce in the strong sense. If in vitro fertilization is classed as a medical procedure in the way that tubal repair is a medical procedure, then discrimination in access for the former and not for the latter is unjustified. Anita Direcks, a diethylstilbestrol (DES) daughter from Holland, has written movingly about the parallels between the use of the synthetic hormone DES allegedly to prevent miscarriage during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and the use of in vitro fertilization, allegedly to alleviate infertility, during the 1970s and 1980s. In particular, women who are offered in vitro fertilization for infertility in their male partners should clearly understand that they could become pregnant much more easily, safely and with lower risks if they made use of donor insemination.
