The debate on Assisted Human Reproduction in Uruguay

by María Victoria Sotelo Bovino

This book deals with the most recent advances in human biotechnology, focusing fundamentally on modern reproductive techniques and genetics applied to humans, as their impacts affect the social sphere, being ultimately highly complex social processes. The object of study of this research deals with the social representations, opinions and ideas that emerged in Uruguay from the different social actors that entered the scene at the time of debating the normative contents of the Law that was presented to regulate the medical practices of Assisted Human Reproduction. Because of the implications of these techniques, the real normative bases of our socio-cultural structure were put into play in this debate, creating a true space for communication where the scientific potential for revolution of our most essential social structures is discussed: the family and the very definition of human life. As a proposal rather than a conclusion, this work aims to show how our society is dynamically constructing a path to be followed.