Screening Applicants for Assisted Reproduction: Complexities and Issues

This chapter examines the reasons for screening applicants for Assisted Reproductive Treatment (ART), the primary criteria used to screen applicants, and approaches to screening taken in the United States, the United Kingdom, and a number of states in Australia. It also examines whether screening is a useful tool that protects children. The chapter considers the screening a person and their partner for whether child protection measures have been taken against them. The United States, United Kingdom and Victoria, Australia provide examples of different approaches to screening applicants who wish to access ART. Each jurisdiction illustrates the screening criteria that may be used. While the use of marital status, sexual orientation, disability, and mental illness as criteria used for screening ART varies amongst jurisdictions, there seems greater consensus that a history of violent or sexual offences is a valid criteria upon which to at least proceed with caution, if not preclude ART.