The Royal Society’s Science and Law programme was established in 2014 to bring together scientists and members of the judiciary to discuss and debate key areas of common interest. The purpose of the programme is to ensure that the best scientific guidance is available to the courts.
This paper will describe the successful approaches used by the programme to facilitate dialogue between the scientific and judicial communities.
Core projects within the programme include:
• Primers for the courts: Designed to assist the judiciary when handling scientific evidence in the courtroom, each primer describes a scientific topic relevant to the courts, highlighting its limitations and the challenges associated with its application in a judicial context. Primers are written by scientific experts in the relevant field and peer reviewed by both scientists and legal practitioners.
• Seminars: Senior judges and academics gather to discuss scientific topics that are anticipated to underpin an increasing number of cases in the coming years.
• Continuing professional development: Training for Circuit Judges and Recorders as part of the Judicial College criminal and family training prospectus.
• International collaboration: A series of international conferences in partnership with the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine review emerging areas of science and compare how different jurisdictions manage scientific evidence.
This paper will provide examples of best practice in bringing together scientific and judicial communities to support the protection of children’s rights.

The United States is wildly divided on access to contraception and abortion. Following the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overruled Roe v. Wade and returned the regulation of abortion to the states, congress has considered new federal legislation that would guarantee access for all persons to contraception. Under federal law, “individual” means everyone — children and adults.
The Right to Contraception Act, a bill before the U.S. Senate, would establish a minor’s right to access contraception, even though 24 states give parents some say in contraception for their children, and the Supreme Court has long recognized the “interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children.”
Of the 24 states that give parents some say in contraception, some allow minors to consent if a doctor makes a referral. Some make exceptions from the normal parental-consent rule for married minors, when a minor is already pregnant, or when a minor is already a parent. Some make special allowances for mature minors, high school graduates, or those referred by clergy. These laws have served the people of these states well by striking a balance between minors' autonomy and privacy and their parents' rights.
The Right to Contraception Act would also displace laws in thirty-six states requiring parental notification or consent to abortion. This is so because the Act encompasses emergency contraceptives, which sometimes act as abortifacients. This presentation will examine whether Contraception and Abortion: Is It the Right of a Child?
Special attention will be given to the variation between state laws and in particular access for minors to abortion in instances of incest and rape. We can learn something from the variability of these state laws about securing the rights of children while respecting the constitutional obligation to involve parents.

Since 1984, Assistive Reproductive Technology has served as a vital tool for couples and individuals facing infertility.

The increase in Assistive Reproductive Technology shines a light on the lack of uniformity in resolving disputes in the field of embryo cryopreservation. Legislation has been unable to keep the pace with rapidly advancing technology. The lack of uniformity in resolving disputes in the field of embryo cryopreservation gives rise to legal issues such as the right to procreate, the right to parent, and the legal interests of an embryo.

The paper will discuss the four approaches utilized in the United States amidst disputes over the legal treatment of embryos: the Pure Contract Approach, the Balancing Test Approach, the Contemporaneous Consent Approach, and the Statutory Approach. Additionally, the paper will compare international approaches such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Isreal in which courts look to the agreements and intent of the parties.

Finally, the paper will discuss special considerations in the United States arising from recent case law. The impact of the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse the constitutionally protected right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health has extended to additional disputes regarding unused embryos. While embryos are not currently considered legal persons, some states are taking action to protect embryos. Louisiana has enacted legislation declaring an embryo a “biological human being.” In LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, the Alabama Supreme Court held embryos are protected under the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act.

In conclusion, this proposed paper will highlight the approaches taken worldwide to balance the interest of the individual and the family in embryo cryopreservation, the consequences of a lack of uniform approach, and the future of protections for cryopreserved embryos.