The right to freedom of movement for medical treatment: A case of 'reproductive tourism' in the EU

Caring for the coming generations is vital for every society, and the processes that accompany human reproduction are of particular interest to parents, prenatal care providers and the public in general. The ethical and legal issues that arise in terms of new biological findings and their implementation in the field of assisted reproduction are set as a priority requirement in order to identify the values and interests that the legal order seeks to protect, prevent potential abuses, and clearly regulate the doctor-patient relationship in the context of medically assisted reproduction procedures. Although these days every EU country (except Ireland) has legislation governing assisted reproduction, accompanied by professional guidelines, there is still no European consensus on this matter. Moreover, it seems that the EU has so far refrained from adopting acts that will be binding on all Member States, consciously leaving this area largely dependent on the moral and ethical views of the Member States, which need to regulate it themselves. Due to the diversity of legal solutions in this area, as well as the ability to move freely through EU countries, a large number of patients decide to travel to countries that have more liberal legal solutions in the domain of assisted reproduction. This widespread phenomenon on the EU soil is called reproductive tourism and it represents a direct consequence of the lack of supranational legal sources in this area. It is through the example of reproductive tourism that the author analyses the extent to which the right to freedom of movement in the EU law affects the right of individuals, in Member States, to gain access to ethically controversial treatments available only in certain EU Member States.