State legal regulation and patient autonomy in the field of reproductive health

Abstract

Background. The article analyses the interaction between the state’s mandatory regulation of the human right to reproductive health and its coordination with the patient’s autonomous will. The main emphasis is placed on the latest reproductive procedures and methods and possible problems in their implementation in relation to human autonomy are pointed out. Objective of the study: to find the optimal combination of state, public and private legal interests in the exercise of the right to reproductive health and to establish the legal nature of patient autonomy in this area. Materials and methods. A comprehensive methodological approach was used, including a combination of legal, medical knowledge and cultural and ethical norms of society. The humanistic method was used to establish the priority of human rights and will in the regulation of reproductive rights, and the method of gender analysis was used to understand the differences in the level of autonomy of women and men in reproductive medicine. The empirical method was used in the author’s survey of 402 women in the Republic of Poland and Ukraine on their personal and state legal attitudes to reproductive health. Results. Two approaches to state regulation of reproductive autonomy are envisaged: the first one limits legal regulation and state intervention, giving priority to individual autonomy, the second one indicates a legitimate broad, but legitimate possibility of interfering with the patient’s autonomous decision in the field of reproductive health. The author distinguishes legitimate groups of restrictive legal phenomena in the field of the right to exercise the human reproductive function: general legal restrictions and special restrictions relating exclusively to the human right to reproduction. Conclusions. It is need to update national legislation by specifying clearer medical protocols regarding the number of embryos during embryo transfer and their dependence on the patient’s age. The author identifies the newest possibilities of gene editing as an ethical and medical problem and proves the public fear in this area, which requires additional legal regulation.

Keywords

• reproductive health
• reproductive rights
• patient’s right to autonomy
• women’s right
• public health
• governmental influence
• legal policy
• legal regulation