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1 - The Evolution of ‘the Embryo’ in Law

A Matter of Process?

from Part I - Into Liminality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 March 2021

Catriona A. W. McMillan
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
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Summary

This chapter chronologically traces past legal engagement with the human embryo, from the 13th century, to the end of the 20th century. It does so with a view to demonstrating that a historical perspective is required to understand that process is a key facet of law-making in this area. Notable from this legal history is the law’s persistent efforts to engage with the embryo’s uncertain, processual nature. We cannot fully understand our present legal position without understanding the social, moral, and legal context from which it was born. By looking at the past ‘legal embryo,’ we can see how the law has reached today’s ‘legal embryo’.

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Chapter
Information
The Human Embryo In Vitro
Breaking the Legal Stalemate
, pp. 17 - 36
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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