Extracorporeal Embryonic Development: Juridical Views

Abstract

Although embryonic development covers a very short period (12 weeks), its situation at the beginning of life, between political, social, and religious influences, and the explosion of reproduction techniques in the last decade place this subject in a position which is continuously changing. Central to the current controversy about early human embryo research is the question of when the embryo acquires moral (and juridical) status. This debate was initially opened in relation to laws concerning abortion in different countries. However, compared to the embryo in utero, the extracorporeal status has a specific vulnerability that needs increased juridical protection.