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Assisted Reproduction Policy in Canada: Framing, Federalism, and Failure

By Dave Snow

© 2018

The world has undergone a revolution in assisted reproduction, as processes such as in vitro fertilization, embryonic screening, and surrogacy have become commonplace. Yet when governments attempt to regulate this field, they have not always been successful. Canada is a case in point: six years after the federal government created comprehensive legislation, the Supreme Court of Canada struck it down for violating provincial authority over health. In Assisted Reproduction Policy in Canada, Dave Snow provides the first historical exploration of Canadian assisted reproduction policy, from the 1989 creation of the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies to the present day. Snow argues the federal government’s policy failure can be traced to its contradictory "policy framing," which sent mixed messages about the purposes of the legislation.

In light of the federal government’s diminished role, Snow examines how other institutions have made policy in this emerging field. Snow finds provincial governments, medical organizations, and even courts have engaged in considerable policymaking, particularly with respect to surrogacy, parentage, and clinical intervention. The result—a complex field of overlapping and often conflicting policies—paints a fascinating portrait of different political actors and institutions working together. Accessibly written yet comprehensive in scope, Assisted Reproduction Policy in Canada highlights how paying attention to multiple policymakers can improve our knowledge of health care regulation.

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Product Details

  • World Rights
  • Page Count: 200 pages
  • Dimensions: 5.9in x 0.3in x 8.9in
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SKU# SP004787

  • PUBLISHED SEP 2018

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    Regular Price: $31.95

    ISBN 9781487523190
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    ISBN 9781487502423
  • AVAILABLE AUG 2018

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Quick Overview

This is the first major exploration of the Canada’s assisted reproduction policy at the national and provincial levels. It explains the reasons that led to the federal government’s failed national framework, and the legacy it left behind.

Assisted Reproduction Policy in Canada: Framing, Federalism, and Failure

By Dave Snow

© 2018

The world has undergone a revolution in assisted reproduction, as processes such as in vitro fertilization, embryonic screening, and surrogacy have become commonplace. Yet when governments attempt to regulate this field, they have not always been successful. Canada is a case in point: six years after the federal government created comprehensive legislation, the Supreme Court of Canada struck it down for violating provincial authority over health. In Assisted Reproduction Policy in Canada, Dave Snow provides the first historical exploration of Canadian assisted reproduction policy, from the 1989 creation of the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies to the present day. Snow argues the federal government’s policy failure can be traced to its contradictory "policy framing," which sent mixed messages about the purposes of the legislation.

In light of the federal government’s diminished role, Snow examines how other institutions have made policy in this emerging field. Snow finds provincial governments, medical organizations, and even courts have engaged in considerable policymaking, particularly with respect to surrogacy, parentage, and clinical intervention. The result—a complex field of overlapping and often conflicting policies—paints a fascinating portrait of different political actors and institutions working together. Accessibly written yet comprehensive in scope, Assisted Reproduction Policy in Canada highlights how paying attention to multiple policymakers can improve our knowledge of health care regulation.

Continue Reading Read Less

Product Details

  • World Rights
  • Page Count: 200 pages
  • Dimensions: 5.9in x 0.3in x 8.9in

  • Reviews

    "Assisted Reproduction Policy in Canada is meticulously researched. Dave Snow is a punchy writer. Much of political science is concerned with answering one question: ‘What drives politics?’ As Assisted Reproduction shows, it is an impulse for government over-reach, a fetish for control and regulation, and a mistaken suspicion that Canadian society is comprised of wolves and sheep."


    Holly Doan
    Blacklock’s Reporter

    "Assisted Reproduction Policy in Canada is a pleasure to read! With analysis on the medical-scientific and moral responses to assisted reproduction, this book is timely and engaging. Dave Snow writes an insightful analysis of the creation of and eventual dismantling of much of the Assisted Human Reproduction Association."


    Vanessa Gruben, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa

    "This is a truly excellent book. Assisted Reproduction Policy in Canada provides remarkable insight into how public policy is made, contested, and evolves when there are multiple layers of authority in a federation like Canada."


    Robert Schertzer, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto Scarborough

  • Author Information

    Dave Snow is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Guelph.

  • Table of contents

    1. Understanding Assisted Reproduction Policy
    2. The Royal Commission On New Reproductive Technologies and the Legacy of Past Frames
    3. The Assisted Human Reproduction Act Comes to Fruition
    4. The Assisted Human Reproduction Act Goes to Court
    5. Surrogacy and Parentage Policy in the Provinces
    6. Many Actors, Many Policies: Clinical Intervention Policy in Canada
    7. Making Sense of Canadian Assisted Reproduction Policy

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