Please join us on September 25, 2025, at 2 p.m. EDT for our next foreign, comparative, and international law webinar titled, “Regulation of IVF and Related Issues, Global Perspectives.” This webinar is the latest installment in the Law Library’s Foreign and Comparative Law Webinar Series.
Please register here.
This webinar addresses ethical concerns and legal approaches to in vitro fertilization (IVF) in a global context. “IVF is a complex series of procedures that can lead to a pregnancy and is commonly used as a treatment for infertility … [and] for the prevention of passing of genetic problems to a child.”
Countries that permit assisted reproductive technologies, such as IVF, regulate certain aspects of the procedure, including access to treatment, requirements for operating IVF facilities, IVF safety protocols, and funding. IVF enables the implantation of embryos not only in the genetic mother but also in a gestational surrogate. Countries’ approaches to surrogacy differ, with some prohibiting it completely, and others permitting it under specific conditions, including whether the surrogate is motivated by altruism or by economic interest.
The webinar will provide details on the findings of a January 2025 report prepared by staff of the Global Legal Research Directorate of the Law Library of Congress, titled “Regulation of IVF and Related Issues.” It will address additional topics, such as the determination of parental rights in cases of surrogacy, particularly in cases of embryo mix-up, and the legality of embryo implantation after the death of a genetic parent. Information on the regulation of posthumous sperm extraction for use in IVF will also be provided.
The webinar will be presented by Ruth Levush, senior foreign law specialist in the Global Legal Research Directorate of the Law Library of Congress. Ruth conducts research on Israeli domestic law, as well as comparative and international law, for the U.S. Congress, executive agencies, and the U.S. judiciary. Her work has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court, and her reports have been admitted into evidence as expert testimony by various U.S. federal courts. Ruth previously served as a special assistant to Justice Aharon Barak, former president of Israel’s Supreme Court, and practiced law in Israel as an attorney, both in government and in private practice. She holds a Master of Comparative Law (American practice) from The George Washington University Law School and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Tel Aviv University Law School. Ruth is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and was admitted to the Israeli Bar.
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