Assisted reproductive technology (ART) in the United States: towards a national regulatory framework?

In most of the industrialized world, comprehensive oversight and/or regulation of assisted reproductive technology has been in place for some time now. For example, in countries such as France or the UK, fertility clinics are licensed by a government agency. This arrangement allows for rules to be modified as needed, and also provides a mechanism for ensuring that clinics are following them. Rules about permitted procedures, guided by consistent principles, are set and enforced by the licensing agency. Above all, countries that regulate assisted reproduction differ from the United States in one very crucial way: they regard health care as a right and provide it to their citizens. This paper will offer a panorama of the practice of assisted reproductive technology (ART) in the United States, present some key events and the contemporary context that have provoked an urgent call for national regulation, examine some states wherein regulation exits, and estimate the possibility for a national regulatory framework.