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Deadline: November 30, 2022
Dr E. Chloe Romanis

Organisers: Dr E. Chloe Romanis (Petrie-Flom Center for Health at Harvard Law and E&L Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard & Durham CELLS) and Dr Victoria Hooton (Max Planck Institute, Frankfurt)

This online roundtable, co-sponsored by the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law and the E&L Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard, will facilitate discussion between biolawyers/ethicists working on medical and technological advancements in reproduction and lawyers working in equality (broadly construed) in multiple jurisdictions. Our objective in this Roundtable is to consider workplace equality and reproductive technologies in light of existing and novel/upcoming reproductive practices and technologies. We hope to identify challenges posed to equality-centred legal frameworks by advancements in reproductive technology and practices, with a view to publishing an edited collection on this topic.

The roundtable will run across two half-day sessions, approximately four hours per day. The first day is dedicated to advancements relating to fertility and conception; the second revolves around gestation and birth. We would like interested participants to attend both days, to ensure that a wider range of ideas and discussions can be developed. 

  • Roundtable Day 1: Fertility – 23rd January 2023 (9am to 1pm EST)

  1. IVF

  2. Social Egg Freezing

  3. Miscarriage

  • Roundtable Day 2: Gestation and Birth – 27th January 2023 (9am to 1pm EST)

  1. Surrogacy

  2. Uterine Transplants

  3. Artificial Womb (or ‘Artificial Placenta’) Technology

Biolawyers/Bioethicists working on each practice/technology will present a brief overview, after which there are breakout sessions with smaller groups of researchers. This will be the opportunity to discuss any initial thoughts, ideas, or concerns regarding equality law and the area of reproductive care presented.

Due to the formatting of the roundtable, this event will be kept to invited participants only (after an open call). We invite those interested in participating to send an email to elizabethchloeromanis@fas.harvard.edu and hooton@lhlt.mpg.de expressing interest by 30th November 2022. Please include a short explanation of your research interest in this topic (150 words max).