ABSTRACT
In 1991, the Embryo Protection Act (Embryonenschutzgesetz, ESchG) was started in Germany. The ESchG postulates a basic ban on prenatal sex selection. It includes extensive prohibition of non-therapeutic research without using the term itself, whereby artificial fertilisation of an egg for any purposes other than the bringing about of pregnancy in the woman who produced the egg, is forbidden. With this regulation, the coming to being of surplus embryos which could be used for research purposes is to be prevented. A closer look reveals that many regulations in the ESchG are less concerned with the protection of the embryo than the protection of "accredited forms of family planning", wording found in the annex of the Federal Medical Council Guidelines, whose principle, however, is also found in the ESchG. This motivation is clearly revealed in the ban on surrogate motherhood.
