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Bill C-13: Cloning and Bio-Ethics
Legislating the field of Assisted Human Reproduction

By Rhonda Lauret Parkinson
January 12th 2004

In the age of “rent a womb” contracts, fertilized egg sales on e-Bay, and Scotland’s world-famous Dolly the cloned sheep, many countries are attempting to legislate assisted human reproductive technologies. The purpose of legislation is not only to ban specific procedures, such as cloning humans, that many people find morally objectionable. It also attempts to regulate what happens at fertility clinics, and to provide ethical guidelines for scientists and researchers who work with genetic material.

The following feature explores the history of Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) legislation in Canada:

What are the Ethical Issues?

From human cloning to selling sperm

The Politics of Genetic and Reproductive Technologies

Canada’s efforts to legislate the AHR field date back to the late 1980s

Canada Tries Again: Bill C-56 and Bill C-13

The government’s latest attempts to legislate AHR technologies and research

How are AHR technologies currently regulated?

Canadian Institutes of Health Research Guidelines

Summary of Bill C-13

An Act Respecting Assisted Human Reproduction

Reaction to Bill C-13

Both religious organizations and the medical research community criticize the legislation’s “middle ground” approach

The Future of Bill C-13 and Further Reading

What Happens Now?  

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