The legal legitimacy of research on the human embryo conceived in the context of medically assisted procreation in light of current legal developments

Abstract

Research on the human embryo conceived in the context of medically assisted procreation, and which are no longer the subject of a parental project, aims to develop the technology of medically assisted procreation. But the doctrine is divided on the question of the legitimacy of this research. The source of this division is the legal status of the embryo. Is it a thing or is it a person?

If the embryo is a person, research on it is, in principle, prohibited; whereas if the embryo is considered a thing, this research is permitted.

Medically assisted procreation raises many ethical, religious and legal problems, the most important of which is the fate of embryos conceived in the context of medically assisted procreation, and which are no longer the subject of a parental project. The question has arisen as to whether these embryos could be the subject of research.