The right to science in sexual and reproductive health and the legal status of the human embryo

Silke Dyer; Alison B Edelman; Asha S George; Tari Turner; Joanna N Erdman

doi:10.1080/26410397.2025.2524970

The right to science in sexual and reproductive health and the legal status of the human embryo

Sex Reprod Health Matters. 2025 Jun 30:1-9. doi: 10.1080/26410397.2025.2524970. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Silke Dyer¹, Alison B Edelman², Asha S George³, Tari Turner⁴, Joanna N Erdman⁵

Affiliations

¹ Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Groote Schuur Hospital and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
² Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA. edelmana@ohsu.edu.
³ Professor, School of Public Health, University of Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa. asgeorge@uwc.ac.za.
⁴ Professor, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. tari.turner@monash.edu.
⁵ Professor and MacBain Chair of Health Law and Policy, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada. jn499451@dal.ca.

PMID: 40586159
DOI: 10.1080/26410397.2025.2524970

Abstract

Through the examination of scientific evidence related to human embryo development, the aim of this commentary is to support the right to science in sexual and reproductive health, to outline why science supports a legal approach to embryos as the biological material of human life but not as human persons, and to recognise that international human rights law adopts this approach in the protection of sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Keywords: Sexual and reproductive health and rights; assisted reproductive technology; human embryonic development; policy; right to science.