HUMANA.MENTE Journal of Philosophical Studies

From the birth of Louise Brown (1978) to today, biotechnology and the expansion of individual freedom and rights have brought about profound changes in the human reproduction scenario, altering the boundary between chance and choice, and questioning the moral relevance of the natural/artificial conceptual pair. The increasing research into “Assisted Reproductive Technology” (ART) is transforming the very way of conceiving reproduction both in medical and philosophical terms: ART refers to all sorts of technique/technologies that are employed to facilitate and assist the conception of a child without sexual intercourse being involved. It includes technologies such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Other techniques and practices, such as surrogacy, ectogenesis and artificial wombs, may also imply ART.