La procréation médicalement assistée : enjeux et politiques

This article seeks to explore the major techniques, issues, and nascent public policy governing the practice of medically assisted procreation (MAP). On the one hand, the absence of federal regulation has encouraged the development of what some analysts call the "supermarket of procreation" , wherein only financially privileged individuals have access to new reproductive technologies. This market's value is inflated by alarmist discourses, both in popular and scientific literature, relative to supposed high rates of sterility among Americans, especially women. Meanwhile, throughout the different states, access to MAP is undergoing a certain number of restrictions. Regulations varying from state to state, for the most part emanating from the judicial system or adopted by state legislatures in accordance with judicial rulings, have a tendency to facilitate this access for married heterosexual couples with significant financial means. This has led to the political mobilization of a number of feminist, homosexual, and consumer interest groups who denounce discriminatory practices and call for unlimited access to MAP in the name of the "right to privacy" in matters of procreation as established by the Supreme Court from Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) to Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992).Merchant Jennifer. La procréation médicalement assistée : enjeux et politiques. In: Revue Française d'Etudes Américaines, N°77, juin 1998. Le système de santé en question. pp. 46-61