The Legal Status of IVF Embryos in Iraq

Abstract

This paper has examined the legal status of IVF human embryos under Iraqi law. As, there is no legal provisions that regulate and cover this issue in Iraq. It has considered the new changes that have been brought and raised as a result of assisted reproductions, especially in vitro fertilization technique and its influence on the legal status of embryos. For that, this paper set out and analysed Iraqi legislative provisions pertain human embryos, that showed that a human embryo cannot be a person, property or part of mother's body, but it has special status entitles human embryo to get legal protection, and it is eligible for some legal rights that are contingent with to be born alive. The special legal status should be granted for all conceived embryos, regardless method of creation of embryos, In addition, it has been argued that surplus embryos that are created and cryopreserved at laboratories have no similar status to conceived embryos, where they just consider a biological materials, until they are transplanted into a mother's womb. So that, the standard for granting a special status to human embryos, is the actual existence of embryo inside mother's womb.