It is in the context of reproduction, interpreted broadly, that many of the issues concerning the ethics of science and technology have arisen. The birth of the first so-called "test tube" baby in 1978 set in motion an ongoing process of questioning interventions such as assisted reproduction, embryo research, and cloning.

The notion that human beings possess a legitimate inclination to conceive and bear children is part of traditional natural law teaching. For instance, Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) argued that human beings share those inclinations "which nature has taught to all animals," such as sexual intercourse, education of offspring, and so forth (Summa theologiae I–II, Q. 94, a.2). As traditional natural law was transformed into modern natural right, and human sexuality became increasingly mediated by science and technology so as to become both more productive and subject to human control, the intersection of human rights and having...