Honey, I Froze the Kids: Implications for the Practitioner in Reproductive Technologies and Spousal Consent

Abstract

Frontier issues of reproductive technology continue to reveal just how vast are the implications for marriage and the family.

A most interesting aspect of this area of reproductive medicine is that clients often fail to consider the many concerns that arise with this treatment. For more on the personal decision-making process couples go through see "A Hitchhiker's Guide to ART: Implementing Self-Governed Personally Responsible Decision-Making in the Context of Artificial Reproductive Technology," 39 CAPITAL U. L. REV. 413 (2011) at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1957205.

This article considers the critical aspect of marital unity and the spousal consent ramifications of new reproductive technologies in light of case law, statutory law, and traditional notions of marital unity. It specifically considers the question of whether a spouse's reproductive gametes can be considered as marital property.

Keywords: reproduction, reproductive technology, assisted reproduction, spousal consent, marital unity

JEL Classification: K1, K10, K19, K30