Can a Right to Reproduce Justify the Status Quo on Parental Licensing?

Abstract

Most Western jurisdictions require parental licensing in the case of adoption, but not in the case of assisted or unassisted biological reproduction. This chapter explores an argument in favor of a system of parental licensing—one that appeals to the notion of a right to reproduce. According to this argument, prospective biological parents are protected from parental licensing because they exercise a right to reproduce when attempting to have children, while the same cannot be said about prospective adoptive parents. This chapter shows that such an argument is flawed. It also questions whether people have a right to reproduce, and distinguishes this right from other, legitimate rights, such as a right to become a parent and a right to bodily autonomy.

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