20.05.2025
11:30–13:00
The Human Embryo: A Who or a What?
Congress Centre, conference hall D3
Increasing the birth rate remains a key priority in the state policy of Russia, where assisted reproductive technologies also play a significant role. However, their proliferation raises a number of ethical and legal dilemmas that not only require public discussion, but also a balanced legislative approach. Despite the active development of legal regulation in this area, significant gaps remain today. Who is recognized as a child’s parents in the event of an error when an embryo is transferred? What happens to embryos if one of the potential parents insists on their disposal, and the other is opposed? Can the biomaterial of a deceased person be used for reproductive purposes? For now, there is no clear legislative answer to these and other questions, which potentially affect the fate of millions of unborn children. In recent years, Russian courts have increasingly encountered cases related to assisted reproductive technologies. The lack of uniform legal standards results in contradictory judicial practice, which creates legal uncertainty and reduces the predictability of court decisions. This situation not only undermines people’s trust in reproductive technologies, but also threatens the achievement of the government’s strategic demographic goals. Eliminating legal conflicts requires a synthesis of international experience and due consideration of Russia’s specific national features. Legal regulation should be carefully thought out and not only adapted to the rapid development of medical and biological sciences, but also ensure a balance between innovation, the principles of humanism, and the protection of the basic rights of all parties involved in the process – from donors to unborn children. Does a human embryo have the legal status of an object or a subject? Who should be recognized as the owner of an embryo? What are the conditions for splitting an embryo and disposing of it if it is shared? What is an embryo’s fate in the event one or both of the potential parents dies? Is the legal regulation of ‘posthumous parenthood’ necessary? Should there be restrictions on the permissible number of embryos that can be created? Do we need more nuanced regulation of cryopreservation and the subsequent storage of embryos? What are some of the consequences of errors during IVF. Who is the parent, who is responsible, and what is his/her responsibility? What should take precedence – the donor’s right to anonymity or the child’s right to know their parents?
Moderator
Mikhail Barshchevsky
Plenipotentiary Representative of the Government of the Russian Federation at the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation
Panellists
Andrey Vasiliev
Director, N.K. Koltsov Institute of Developmental Biology of Russian Academy of Sciences
Alina Laktionova
Partner, Head of Private Client Practice, St. Petersburg Office of Mitra National Law Company
Anna Lyabina
Deputy Director of Legal Affairs, Mother and Child Group of Companies for Siberia and the Far East
Lidia Mikheeva
Secretary, Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation; Chair of the Council (Head), S.S. Alexeev Private Law Research Centre under the President of the Russian Federation
Maria Pukhova
Lawyer, Barshchevsky & Partners Moscow Bar Association
Front row participant
Inna Yambulatova
Head of the Expert and Analytical Department, Patriarchal Commission on Family Issues, Protection of Motherhood and Childhood
Broadcast

Mikhail Barshchevsky
Plenipotentiary Representative of the Government of the Russian Federation at the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation
Andrey Vasiliev
Director, N.K. Koltsov Institute of Developmental Biology of Russian Academy of Sciences
Andrey Vasilyev was born on 18 April 1961 in Moscow. He is a specialist in cellular mechanics of development and regeneration, tissue engineering, and cellular technology. Author of 128 scientific articles, monographies, and 18 patents. Academic advisor and consultant for 8 Ph.D. theses in Biology.
Post-doctoral degree in Biology. Corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 3rd class State Councillor of the Russian Federation. Expert in the Russian Academy of Sciences.
As of 1 September 2015, Director of the N.K. Koltsov Institute of Developmental Biology (IDB), RAS. Head of the Embryology Department, School of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Lecturer for the course ‘Cellular mechanisms of development and regeneration.’
Member of the Dissertation Board for the Institute of Developmental Biology and the School of Biology at Lomonsov Moscow State University.
Member of the Scientific Council, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation; member of the Scientific and Technical Council, JSC RUSNANO; member of the ‘Biological Sciences’ Federal Academic Methodological Association.
Received Science/Interperiodical International Academic Publishing Company (Pleiades Publishing) award for best publication in a journal (2006). Awarded a Gold Medal by the Lavrentyev Institute of the RAS Siberian Branch for merits in the development of biology (2016).
Member of the Editorial Board for journals: RAS News: Biology Series, Ontogenesis, Molecular Medicine, Cellular Technology in Biology and Medicine. Member of the Editorial Board for Moscow University Bulletin: Biology Series.
Dr. Vasilyev is coauthored the following acts on the development of biomedical research in the Russian Federation: ‘Development strategies of medical science in the Russian Federation,’ approved by the Order of the Government of the Russian Federation on 28 December 2012, № 2580-р, and Public report on the development of Biomedicine in the Russian Federation (2015).
He is one of the principal developers of Federal Law № 180-FZ, ‘On biomedical cell products,” 23 June 2016, a range of legal acts on development, production, and application of biomedical cell products.
Awards: Prize Laureate of ‘Science/Interperiodical’ (Pleiades Publishing) for best publication in a journal (2006). Gold Medal by the Lavrentyev Institute of the RAS Siberian Branch for merits in the development of biology (2016). Letters of recognition from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (2014, 2015).
Post-doctoral degree in Biology. Corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 3rd class State Councillor of the Russian Federation. Expert in the Russian Academy of Sciences.
As of 1 September 2015, Director of the N.K. Koltsov Institute of Developmental Biology (IDB), RAS. Head of the Embryology Department, School of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Lecturer for the course ‘Cellular mechanisms of development and regeneration.’
Member of the Dissertation Board for the Institute of Developmental Biology and the School of Biology at Lomonsov Moscow State University.
Member of the Scientific Council, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation; member of the Scientific and Technical Council, JSC RUSNANO; member of the ‘Biological Sciences’ Federal Academic Methodological Association.
Received Science/Interperiodical International Academic Publishing Company (Pleiades Publishing) award for best publication in a journal (2006). Awarded a Gold Medal by the Lavrentyev Institute of the RAS Siberian Branch for merits in the development of biology (2016).
Member of the Editorial Board for journals: RAS News: Biology Series, Ontogenesis, Molecular Medicine, Cellular Technology in Biology and Medicine. Member of the Editorial Board for Moscow University Bulletin: Biology Series.
Dr. Vasilyev is coauthored the following acts on the development of biomedical research in the Russian Federation: ‘Development strategies of medical science in the Russian Federation,’ approved by the Order of the Government of the Russian Federation on 28 December 2012, № 2580-р, and Public report on the development of Biomedicine in the Russian Federation (2015).
He is one of the principal developers of Federal Law № 180-FZ, ‘On biomedical cell products,” 23 June 2016, a range of legal acts on development, production, and application of biomedical cell products.
Awards: Prize Laureate of ‘Science/Interperiodical’ (Pleiades Publishing) for best publication in a journal (2006). Gold Medal by the Lavrentyev Institute of the RAS Siberian Branch for merits in the development of biology (2016). Letters of recognition from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (2014, 2015).

Alina Laktionova
Partner, Head of Private Client Practice, St. Petersburg Office of Mitra National Law Company

Anna Lyabina
Deputy Director of Legal Affairs, Mother and Child Group of Companies for Siberia and the Far East

Lidia Mikheeva
Secretary, Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation; Chair of the Council (Head), S.S. Alexeev Private Law Research Centre under the President of the Russian Federation

Maria Pukhova
Lawyer, Barshchevsky & Partners Moscow Bar Association

Inna Yambulatova
Head of the Expert and Analytical Department, Patriarchal Commission on Family Issues, Protection of Motherhood and Childhood