Sociology Discipline

New procreative or conceptive technologies have stimulated considerable public debate and raised difficult social, ethical and policy dilemmas. Often legislation is presented as a 'neutral ' framework for resolving disputes or clarifying controversies regarding the availability of in vitro fertilisation (IVF), donor gametes and embryo experimentation. Activists and policy makers tend to view law as reflecting community values or concerns and as arbitrating between diverse viewpoints or interests. As a form of social control, law defines the kinds of experiments permitted and who should have access to the programs, and attaches sanctions and penalties for non-compliance. Following this notion of social control is a perception that law responds and reacts to rapid developments in medical science. This paper examines the role of law in regulating the experimental and clinical application of new procreative technologies. The focus is on the emergence of legislation in Victoria and South Australia. Victoria was the first jurisdiction in the world to legislate in this area in 1984 and South Australia followed in 1988. Western Australia passed legislation in 1991. In contrast to views of law as either reflecting some kind of community consensus or a