Reprodução assistida: limites éticos à legislação

Abstract

The objective of this study was to demonstrate the need for legislation on assisted reproduction in Brazil and to guide the legislator in the task of establishing standards for medical practice in the use of reproductive technologies. The research, theoretical and multidisciplinary, included medical, ethical and legal aspects of assisted reproduction, intending to elucidate the complexity of the issues raised by it, that should be governed by the law. The deep ethical reflection on assisted reproduction was not followed by a corresponding legal reflection in Brazil, so that, despite the frequent use of the technique, there is still no specific legislative discipline on the matter, governed only by the rules of the Federal Council of Medicine. The proposed legal treatment of assisted reproduction is based on the responsibility as a principle and on the need to think and use the technique always for the benefit of human beings, whose dignity must be respected and protected. Thus, in the use of assisted reproduction, human dignity and constitutional principles impose restrictions on medical practice, especially regarding the handling and treatment of the embryo, whose life and physical integrity must be safeguarded.