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US Supreme Court overturns Roe v Wade: what does this mean for reproductive rights and freedoms?

On Friday 24 June 2022, the US Supreme Court delivered its retrograde decision in the case of Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health, overturning the 50-year-old precedent (Roe v Wade 1973) which established abortion rights in the US. This decision matters because it marks a serious step backwards for rights to choose pregnancy and motherhood and bodily autonomy for millions of US women. This legal ruling also matters from a wider reproductive, medical, scientific, economic, health and social care perspective. It creates uncertainty about the future of assisted reproductive technologies (‘ART’) including fertility preservation, IVF and surrogacy in some US states.
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Progress Educational Trust’s 30th Birthday Party

Louisa Ghevaert was delighted to attend Progress Educational Trust's 30th birthday party at The Royal Society of Medicine in London on Wednesday 22 June 2022. PET's 30th birthday party, which was sponsored by Ferring Pharmaceuticals, was very well attended by a community of leading experts and supporters from across the fertility, medical, scientific, academic and legal sectors. Speeches were delivered by Baroness Ruth Deech DBE and PET Trustee Professor Robin Lovell-Badge CBE. As part of its 30th birthday programme, PET Director Sarah Norcross also announced the publication of an illuminating wide-ranging nationwide Ipsos study measuring public opinion and understanding about fertility, genomics and embryo research.
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Egg, sperm and embryo freezing: what could go wrong?

Egg, sperm and embryo freezing can help preserve and maximise individual fertility. However, it is not a failsafe way to guarantee conception and delivery of a much-wanted baby. There are a variety of practical and legal issues to consider. Not freezing gametes and embryos at all, delaying collection and freezing and failing to build up sufficient reserves of frozen eggs, sperm and embryos can undermine your chances of successful family building. Failing to consider the legal aspects which govern the storage and use of frozen eggs, sperm and embryos in fertility treatment can also create unwanted problems and even prevent their use in treatment.
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DNA testing, parentage disputes and the law

DNA testing can create unexpected issues and outcomes that have a far wider impact on people’s lives than they ever imagined. They can include unforeseen discoveries about conception, maternity and paternity, unknown siblings and relatives. They can also uncover family secrets and stories of loss and infidelity, as well as IVF mix-ups, fertility fraud, donor conception and adoption that can upend the lives of individuals and families. In turn, these discoveries can result in complex legal disputes about parentage, birth certificates, contact and upbringing of a child, child maintenance and inheritance, negligence as well as evolving issues about the use of personal genetic information. Given the rapidly evolving landscape associated with DNA testing, it is important to obtain specialist legal advice to identify, manage and resolve the complex and far-reaching legal and practical issues and outcomes.
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