Abstract New reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilisation have opened up new avenues for those who wish to have children, and who need no longer be bound by biological limitations to procreation like infertility. However, the choices available to prospective parents have been restricted by the fact that the use of new reproductive technologies in artificial reproduction has been subject to regulation in many parts of the world – including South Africa. These regulations have been challenged on the grounds that they infringe upon the rights of those who want to use these technologies. Underlying these challenges is the claim that the rights which are currently given recognition in our law apply to the use of new reproductive technologies – and this article investigates to what extent this claim is applicable with reference to the South African Constitution. Considering the historical context within which reproductive rights have emerged, this article concludes that the right to make decisions concerning reproduction (s 12(2)(a)) and the right to reproductive healthcare (s 27(1)(a)) both protect the freedom of individuals to form families by having children – including where this is done in non-traditional ways that do not involve the use of one’s own body.

中文翻译：

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旧的，新的：在南非将生殖权利应用于新的生殖技术

摘要 体外受精等新的生殖技术为那些希望生育的人开辟了新的途径，他们不再受不孕症等生育的生物学限制的束缚。然而，由于在人工生殖中使用新的生殖技术在世界许多地方（包括南非）都受到监管，准父母的选择受到限制。这些法规受到质疑，理由是它们侵犯了想要使用这些技术的人的权利。这些挑战的基础是声称目前在我们的法律中承认的权利适用于新生殖技术的使用——本文研究了这一主张在多大程度上适用于南非宪法。考虑到生殖权利出现的历史背景，本文得出的结论是，就生殖做出决定的权利（第 12（2）（a）条）和生殖保健权（第 27（1）（a）条）都保护个人通过生育组建家庭的自由——包括以不涉及使用自己身体的非传统方式进行的情况。