Extraterritoriality for cross-border reproductive care: should states act against citizens travelling abroad for illegal infertility treatment? 2011

Wannes Van Hoof, and Guido Pennings
Bioethics Institute Ghent, Ghent University, Blandijnberg 2, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. wannes.vanhoof@ugent.be

Since the development of assisted reproduction technologies, there has been discussion on which people should have access to these technologies and which treatments and techniques are morally acceptable. However, national legislation can no longer determine what citizens do. Some countries react to their citizens going abroad to evade restrictions by implementing even more restrictive laws. Turkey has recently become the first state to ban reproductive travel in pursuit of donor gametes. Several states in Australia have enacted or are considering laws that prohibit international commercial surrogacy. This article investigates the consistency and morality of several state reactions to cross-border reproductive care (CBRC), including extraterritorial regulation. The only widespread existing extraterritorial regulation of private life concerns female genital cutting (FGC), sex with children and (largely in the past) abortion. This discussion develops an analogy with these cross-border crimes to evaluate the morality of similar legislation in cases of CBRC. The dissimilarity in these analogies shows that extraterritoriality is a radical position that is generally inappropriate in the case of CBRC. Subsequently, several potential state reactions to CBRC for law evasion are considered. It is concluded that legislation of CBRC should be modest, tolerant and nuanced.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D003132 Commerce The interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale, between different countries or between populations within the same country. It includes trade (the buying, selling, or exchanging of commodities, whether wholesale or retail) and business (the purchase and sale of goods to make a profit). (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, p411, p2005 & p283) Business,Commercial Sector,Prices,Sales,Vendors,Businesses,Commerces,Commercial Sectors,Price,Sale,Sector, Commercial,Sectors, Commercial,Vendor
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D057193 Medical Tourism Travel to another country for the purpose of medical treatment or care. Health Tourism,Medical Tourists,Surgical Tourism,Medical Tourist,Tourism, Health,Tourism, Medical,Tourism, Surgical,Tourist, Medical,Tourists, Medical
D027724 Reproductive Techniques, Assisted Clinical and laboratory techniques used to enhance fertility in humans and animals. Reproductive Technology, Assisted,Assisted Reproductive Technics,Assisted Reproductive Techniques,Assisted Reproductive Technic,Assisted Reproductive Technique,Assisted Reproductive Technologies,Assisted Reproductive Technology,Reproductive Technic, Assisted,Reproductive Technics, Assisted,Reproductive Technique, Assisted,Reproductive Technologies, Assisted,Technic, Assisted Reproductive,Technics, Assisted Reproductive,Technique, Assisted Reproductive,Techniques, Assisted Reproductive,Technologies, Assisted Reproductive,Technology, Assisted Reproductive
D033161 Government Regulation Exercise of governmental authority to control conduct. Government Regulation and Oversight,Government Regulations,Regulation, Government,Regulations, Government
D038622 Internationality The quality or state of relating to or affecting two or more nations. (After Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed) Globalization,International Aspects,International Perspectives,International Relations,Multinational Aspects,Multinational Perspectives,Aspect, International,Aspect, Multinational,Aspects, International,Aspects, Multinational,International Aspect,International Perspective,Multinational Aspect,Multinational Perspective,Perspective, International,Perspective, Multinational,Perspectives, International,Perspectives, Multinational,Relations, International

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