Reproductive technology
Reproductive technology is a term for all current and anticipated uses of technology in human and animal reproduction, including:
- cloning (see human cloning for the special case of human beings)
- artificial wombs
- genetic engineering
- artificial insemination
- embryo transfer
- in vitro fertilization
- hormone treatment to increase fertility
- sperm filtration
- embryo testing
Contraception may also be viewed as a form of reproductive technology, as it enables people to control their fertility.
Many issues of reproductive technology have led to ethical issues being raised, since it often alters the assumptions that lie behind existing systems of sexual and reproductive morality.
Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World was one of the earliest works to anticipate the social consequences of reproductive technology.
