The Challenge of the New Reproductive Technologies to Family Law

Legal and Ethical Issues in NRTs, Vol. 4, p. 340, 1992

60 Pages Posted: 6 Mar 2011

See all articles by Roxanne Mykitiuk

Roxanne Mykitiuk

Osgoode Hall Law School

E. Sloss

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: 1992

Abstract

This paper reviews the legal implications for children born as a result of assisted human reproduction (AHR). Artificial insemination, egg donation, and preconception arrangements challenge family law principles, especially with respect to the determination of who constitutes a family member. The various forms of AHR complicate the legal significance of parenthood by making it possible for more than two individuals to be involved in the procreative process. This raises concerns about the divisibility of the rights and obligations of parenthood. Virtually all aspects of family law are regulated by provincial legislatures; only the law regulating marriage and divorce is under federal jurisdiction.

The paper outlines much of the existing legislative framework in each province and examines judicial decisions where courts have applied the existing law to decisions related to new reproductive technologies. One of the basic principles of family law is the law of filiation, which regulates parent-child relations. However, the existing law, in most cases, does not accommodate the complications in the attribution of parenthood arising when a child is born as a result of AHR. The paper also reviews other adequacies and inadequacies of existing family law in relation to AHR and discusses some of the related moral and social issue. The paper concludes by offering some regulatory choices.

Keywords: assisted human reproduction, new reproductive technologies, AHR, NRT, Canada, family law, policy recommendations, parenting, family unit, parent child relation, filiation

JEL Classification: K39

Suggested Citation

Mykitiuk, Roxanne and Sloss, E., The Challenge of the New Reproductive Technologies to Family Law (1992). Legal and Ethical Issues in NRTs, Vol. 4, p. 340, 1992, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1775165

Roxanne Mykitiuk (Contact Author)

Osgoode Hall Law School ( email )

4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada

E. Sloss

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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