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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on October 28, 2004
Human Reproduction 2004 19(12):2689-2694; doi:10.1093/humrep/deh486
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Human Reproduction vol. 19 no. 12 © European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology 2004; all rights reserved

Legal harmonization and reproductive tourism in Europe

Guido Pennings

Centre for Environmental Philosophy and Bioethics, Ghent University, Blandijnberg 2, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium

Email: guido.pennings{at}ugent.be

Legislation of ethical issues illustrates the uneasy mix of ethics and politics. Although the majority has the political right to express its moral views in the law, a number of important ethical values like autonomy, tolerance and respect for other people's opinions urge the majority to take the minorities' position into account. Ignoring pluralism in society will inevitably lead to reproductive tourism. Although European legislation and harmonization in the domain of medically assisted reproduction is presented as a partial solution to this phenomenon, it is argued that European legislation should be avoided as much as possible. Regulation of these private ethical matters should be left to the national parliaments. A soft or compromise legislation will keep reproductive travelling to a minimum. Reproductive tourism is a safety valve that reduces moral conflict and expresses minimal recognition of the others' moral autonomy.

Key words: ethics/Europe/harmonization/legislation/reproductive tourism


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