Paper short abstract:

This paper explores moral, legal and religious contexts of children's identity rights related to ART in Poland. It discusses how ART, especially third-party reproduction, poses new questions on identity, especially when children's point of view is concerned.

Paper long abstract:

Rapid development of ART in the last decades has had some essential implications for new understanding of kinship, family, parenthood, etc. Little concern has been given so far to the way it may influence the identity of children who were born thanks to new reproductive technologies. The Convention on the Rights of the Child grants the right to identity to all children, but its understandings are often narrowed to the national identity. The origins related to ART, especially when third party reproduction is involved (i.e. gamete donation), are often a taboo ‒ in the intimate, family plan as well as in a broader society ‒ and are hidden from children. In Poland, the additional obstacle is the strong voice of Catholic church in the debate about IVF, which stigmatizes children and therefore, discourages adults from discussing identity issues with them. In the vivid debate on ART in Poland, little concern is given to the actual people who were born thanks to new reproductive technologies, and the meaning of this debate for them is often ignored. In this paper, I explore moral, legal and religious contexts of children's identity rights related to ART in Poland.