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The aim of this study was to analyze the bioethical implications involved in the process of medically-assisted reproduction, considering the rights of the child. Thus, a literature search was conducted of books, articles published in magazines and on the Internet and existing law on the topic. Infertility is a health problem that affects a significant number of couples in the world in the fertile period, and there is investment in techniques for treating infertility. Infertility may be a temporary or permanent inability to produce a child or carry a pregnancy to its natural end. Despite infertility, it is not ethical that, with the emergence of fertilisation techniques, children's rights are ignored. In the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic the inviolability of human life is decreed, and this must be taken into account throughout the life cycle and in all circumstances. Nursing acts should be based on this assumption, and nurses should adopt an ethical attitude and act by respecting the legitimate rights and interests of citizens. In conclusion, the techniques of medically-assisted reproduction have merit, but with their emergence there are dilemmas in the field of bioethics and the law, since they do not safeguard the rights of the child which result from artificial reproduction, such as the right to family identity. Thus, embryos /fetuses are subjects of rights and, due to their vulnerability, need special protection, including appropriate legal protection, before birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]