ABSTRACT
In recent decades, we have learned more about reproduction-about how to procreate in the face of infertility and about what is happening to the unborn child during gestation. This new knowledge has led to increased scrutiny of women's decisions regarding procreation and has given rise to a host of legal issues. On the one hand, we ask whether there exists a right to procreate. In the past, the question was whether the state could prevent or even discourage fertile individuals from having children. The answer to both these questions was-and still is-a limited yes. Today, we also are being asked to consider whether people who are infertile either involuntarily or as a result of choice of lifestyle have a right, under certain circumstances, to technologies that would enable them to have children with whom they are connected genetically.
