Procreative Rights in International Law Insights from the European Court of Human Rights

Draghici contends that the advent of assisted reproductive technologies has given rise to new fundamental, albeit not unqualified, rights. They include the right to use medically assisted procreation (e.g. artificial insemination, in vitro fertilisation, potentially gamete donation, posthumous conception or surrogacy) in order to become a parent (typically where natural procreation is hindered by infertility, sexual orientation, relationship status or adverse life events), the recognition of intention-based parenthood in relation to donor-conceived children jointly planned and raised with the genetic parent, and the right to pursue the conception of a healthy child (e.g. through recourse to preimplantation genetic diagnosis and embryo selection to avoid severe illness in future offspring). To substantiate this claim, the book relies on a comprehensive analysis of international case-law on procreative autonomy, contextualised by a discussion of highly divisive bioethical controversies, from the status of embryos to the morality of genetic screening and third-party reproduction.

Introduction; 1. Parenthood aspirations and justiciable rights; 2. A right to a genetically related child?; 3. A right to the recognition of intentional parenthood?; 4. A right to a healthy child? From medical therapy to eugenic selection; 5. The quest for reproductive equality: the challenges of sexual orientation, gender and civil status; Conclusions; References; Index.

Carmen Draghici is Professor of Law at City, University of London, a Senior Fellow of the UK's Higher Education Academy, an Honorary Member and former Academic Fellow of the Inner Temple, and a member of the Network of UNESCO Chairs in Communication (Orbicom). She specialises in international human rights law and family and child law in England and Wales. Her published work includes the monograph The Legitimacy of Family Rights in Strasbourg Case Law: 'Living Instrument' or Extinguished Sovereignty? (2017).