Free to Decide: The Positive Moral Right to Reproductive Choice
Johnson T.
The advent of novel assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) has considerably expanded our sphere of control over our reproduction, and consequently, the scope of ethical debate surrounding reproductive choice. The now widespread availability of fertility services and genetic selection, in particular, raises questions regarding what free reproductive choice does and should entail. Whilst a negative form of the right to reproductive choice affords individuals only the right to non-interference from third parties in their reproductive decision-making, a positive moral right demands that its exercisability is ensured—that is, governments have a responsibility to offer support for individuals for whom reproductive choice is limited without additional aid. Here, I propose a new form of a positive moral right, which I argue can also effectively guide policy surrounding access to ARTs for fertility and genetic selection.