Prof Imogen Goold, on the History of IVF Regulation

Title: Why Did We Get the Act We Got? A historical study of the origins of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990

Abstract: In passing the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, the UK Parliament was one of the first to pass comprehensive legislation regulating the then-new technology of IVF. The regime was relatively permissive, and created a regulatory body and scheme still in place today, and one which has proved largely fit for purpose. In creating that legislation, choices were made — about the principles to inform the law, and how regulation should be effected. This study, based in part on interviews with members of the Warnock Committee and legislators, explores the origins of the Act and why it emerged in the form it did.