Children’s rights in high-tech fertility age
In a time when the fertility business in the U.S. is booming and so much is possible — artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization (IVF), surrogacy, and potentially, bioengineering of embryos — there are few, if any, laws that protect the children from these less traditional origins. But there should be, says Mary Ann Mason, a professor of the graduate school at UC Berkeley and a faculty affiliate of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. She advocates for strict regulation of the multibillion-dollar fertility industry in her new book Babies of Technology: Assisted Reproduction and the Rights of the Child. Berkeley News spoke with Mason about the state of assisted reproduction in the U.S. and how it needs to change. What rights do you believe children born through assisted reproduction should have? Mary Ann Mason: All children have a right to know who their biological parents are and the culture they come from....