Assisted reproduction practice in Europe: legal and ethical aspects

This report describes the ethical and legal aspects of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) that have been instituted in European countries. The data were collected from questionnaires circulated to fertility centres in 39 countries in Europe. Ninety six ART centres were located in 30 of these countries. Nine countries do not offer ART services. According to the survey, there are approximately 516 centres in Europe, which represent approximately 60% of the world ART centres. The survey included information regarding regulation of ART services, access to these services, attitude toward genetic material donation, cryopreservation of pre-embryos, surrogacy, manipulation of gametes and pre-embryos, research on pre-embryos and multiple fetal pregnancy reduction. At present, the majority of countries in Europe do not have established legislation pertaining to the various aspects of ART practice. The study reviews the ethical and legal aspects of ART practice in Europe.