The Category of Gender in the Context of Assisted Reproductive Technologies Application: From the “Darkness” of Practical Problems to the “Light” of Legislative Decisions

The implementation of assisted reproductive technologies (hereinafter referred to as ART) is characterized as a “lifeline” for individuals who, for whatever reason, cannot perform their reproductive function and are have to overcome infertility through the provision of specialized medical care. At the same time, technological progress in reproductive medicine is fraught with a whole galaxy of problematic aspects subjected to a comprehensive analysis by the author of the undertaken research: 1) the lack of clear certainty in the possibility (impossibility) for a single man to use ART; 2) inconsistency of the legal regulation of marriage and family relations, during which one of the spouses decides to change sex, which indicates the actual legalization of "non-traditional" marriages; 3) carrying out artificial termination of pregnancy on the basis of the sex of the unborn child. In order to effectively solve the identified problems, it is necessary to adopt the following decisions at the legislative level: 1) granting a single man, on an equal footing with a single woman, the right to use ART to overcome infertility; 2) setting a ban for persons in respect of whom a sex reassignment procedure has been launched, which could lead to the formation of a same-sex union, to enter into marriage, as well as the introduction of a document on gender reassignment as a basis for marriage dissolution; 3) setting a ban on abortion based on the sex of the unborn child, as well as artificial termination of pregnancy for non-medical reasons.

medical law, assisted reproductive technologies, assisted reproduction, family law, gender equality, marriage, sex reassignment, artificial termination of pregnancy, selective abortion