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Article: Assessing the viability of a substantive due process right to in vitro fertilization.
- Article from:
- Harvard Law Review
- Article date:
- June 1, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Harvard Law Review Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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On July 25, 1978, Louise Brown was born under what were then viewed as extraordinary circumstances: as the world's first "test-tube baby," she was the first child whose conception occurred in a laboratory dish rather than within her mother's womb. (1) In the years since then, the practice of in vitro fertilization (IVF), the procedure by which Ms. Brown was conceived, has grown precipitously to become an established option for otherwise infertile couples. (2) However, as the use of IVF and other reproductive technologies continues to increase, a number of fundamental policy questions emerge. On the one hand, IVF is an answer to the prayers of many infertile women, ...