On January 6, 2015, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (“BCCA”) delivered a judgment upholding a trial judge’s decision to consider human sperm to be “property” for the purposes of provincial legislation regulating the storage of goods.
Lam v University of British Columbia, 2015 BCCA 2, touches on the bioethics of whether human reproductive tissues can or should be conceptualized as property and give rise to corresponding legal rights. The ruling provides some much welcomed clarity, which is crucial in an era where technological advancement in reproductive medical procedures has outpaced the law. At the same time, the decision in Lam does not tread unnecessary legal ground, restricting its precedent to a specific factual matrix in a manner that is cognizant of the ethical issues that surround the subject of human body ownership.
Human Sperm to Constitute Legal Property: Lam v University of British Columbia
BY ALICJA PUCHTA · FEBRUARY 18, 2015
On January 6, 2015, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (“BCCA”) delivered a judgment upholding a trial judge’s decision to consider human sperm to be “property” for the purposes of provincial legislation regulating the storage of goods.
Lam v University of British Columbia, 2015 BCCA 2, touches on the bioethics of whether human reproductive tissues can or should be conceptualized as property and give rise to corresponding legal rights. The ruling provides some much welcomed clarity, which is crucial in an era where technological advancement in reproductive medical procedures has outpaced the law. At the same time, the decision in Lam does not tread unnecessary legal ground, restricting its precedent to a specific factual matrix in a manner that is cognizant of the ethical issues that surround the subject of human body ownership.