REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND THE U.S. COURTS

Abstract

This article analyzes U.S. court cases involving reproductive technologies in terms of their implications for reproductive choice, mothers' versus fathers' rights, definitions and evaluations of parenting, and the nuclear family structure. The analysis reveals that the courts have tended (a) not to recognize how social conditions shape women's reproductive choices, (b) to promote fathers' rights more than mothers' rights, (c) to ignore the social relationships that constitute childbearing and child rearing and value men's over women's biological contribution to these processes, (d) to reflect certain assumptions about the proper roles of mothers and fathers, and (e) to privilege the nuclear family. The implications of developing reproductive technology policy for an understanding of the relationships among gender, reproductive technologies, and the state are considered, and recommendations for the equitable regulation of these technologies are offered.