Legislation-Australia and New Zealand

Some Australian states have enacted legislation to regulate new reproductive technologies (NRTs), seeking to arbitrate between or reflect the diverse viewpoints and interests surrounding these technologies. The governments of each state and the commonwealth have responded by establishing committees to investigate the ethical, moral, social, and legal implications of NRTs. The act provides the medical profession with a monopoly on the application of the NRTs even though some of the techniques, especially artificial insemination, do not entail sophisticated medical skills. In 1982 the government of Victoria established the multidisciplinary Committee to Consider the Social, Ethical and Legal Issues Arising from in vitro fertilization. The level of public comment, inquiry, and legislative activity regarding assisted conception has been much lower in New Zealand, where the government has left most issues of regulation, record keeping, and access to the medical profession.