Expectations regarding the convergence of domestic laws on ART

At least two trends appear to exist, according to the country reports in this book: A trend towards lifting donor anonymity and a trend towards access to assisted reproduction technologies (ART) for lesbian couples. This chapter questions whether we can expect further convergence of formal domestic laws regarding these two topics of ART. To answer the question, two propositions are tested: first, the proposition that European law leads to convergence of domestic law and, second, Kurzer’s proposition that changes in the values of citizens in European countries have such an effect. With respect to the latter: the European Values Study shows changes in values concerning child rearing and in attitudes regarding homosexuality in the same direction in European countries, although at a different pace. Domestic law seems to follow. With respect to the first: The effects of the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) regarding the right to know one’s origins and to equal rights to access to ART are less clear cut.