In 1978 the first baby generated by in vitro fertilization (IVF) was born. From there, assisted reproduction techniques (ART) began to develop and become a clinical reality in the treatment of infertility. However, assisted reproduction has made great controversies of moral and ethical character arise. Because of these differences, some countries have chosen to regulate assisted reproduction through specific legislation or guidelines. This study aimed to compare laws or references in assisted human reproduction guides from different countries, show differences from the norms in ART, taking into account social, financial, religious and cultural aspects of 9 countries: Brazil, China, Egypt, India ( countries with guidelines ) and Denmark, Israel, Italy, South Africa and Spain (countries with specific legislation ). A review was made in the literature between 2006 and 2011. The search sites used were: VHL Cochrane, PUB MED. Some important documents relating to the matter were added to the survey. The researched items were: existence of laws or guidelines for ART, predominant religion in each country, the number of centers performing ART, coverage by a health plan or government assistance to ART, marital status and need for access for unmarried people and homosexual couples, number of transferred embryos, cryopreservation and donation of gametes and embryos, embryo reduction, PGD, sex selection for non-medical reasons, uterus replacement; status of the embryo. We found large differences between countries, many of which are determined by religion.
low; legislation; guidelines; bioethics; assisted reproduction