Ethics and Law SIG

The Ethics and Law SIG is an interprofessional and interdisciplinary group made up of ethicists, lawyers, academics, clinicians, and other professionals who are committed to the ethical and legal provision of assisted reproduction in Canada. This SIG encourages inquiry and discussion of the ethical issues surrounding human reproduction and fertility services, as well as the legal issues surrounding assisted reproductive procedures and techniques, and in particular third party reproduction.  It is also committed to promoting awareness and understanding of the relevant laws and policies, and providing learning opportunities for its members.

How to Join
The Ethics and Law SIG welcomes members from across a wide range of disciplines who have an interest in the ethical and/or legal implications of ART services. All members must be a member of the CFAS in good standing.

 

Shirley Levitan, LLB, BSc, Adjunct Professor, QLS Elected Fellow, AAART Attorneys

Co-Chair 

Shirley has been practicing law in Toronto since 1988, with an emphasis on family law since 1992, incorporating fertility law since 1996.  She is a member of the Bars of Ontario (1988) and New York State (1991). Shirley received her undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto in 1981, and her law degree from the University of Ottawa in 1987.  Shirley was a panel member for the Office of the Children’s Lawyer in Ontario for 6 years, and an Ontario licensee for private adoption. She is a former Chair of Collaborative Divorce Toronto, and currently sits on its Board. 

In the context of fertility law, Shirley has worked with intended parents, egg/sperm/embryo donors, surrogates, clinics and hospitals.  She has spoken at conferences and seminars in both Canada and the US, including the Ontario Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the National Judges Institute (Ontario), the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, the University of Toronto, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, and the (American) Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys, of which she is an elected Fellow.  Shirley was asked to teach the first fertility law course at Queen’s University Law School, and continues to do so.  She is also published in the 2021 Cambridge University Press “50 Big Debates in Reproductive Medicine’’, and was asked by Lexis Nexis, a popular international legal online data base, to create its first Fertility Law unit.  Shirley has extensive experience with drafting the various agreements and consents necessary in the practice of reproductive technology law, as well as preparing and attending to court and government applications dealing with cross border, national and international, birth registration issues that arise in the context of assisted reproductive technology.

Shirley is one of the few lawyers in Ontario who has considerable experience in both family law and fertility law, and as a result, was asked to assist with reviewing and revising Bill 28, which amends Ontario’s former Children’s Law Reform Act.  The amendments have direct and vital legal impact on Ontario families created using third party reproductive technology.  Additionally, because Shirley practices in both these areas, she offers the knowledge and insight to help an increasing number of people with issues encompassing both fertility law and family law issues, such as embryo creation by non-spouses who wish to co-parent, and embryo ‘battles’ between separating spouses.

Shawn P. Winsor, MHSc, PhDc

Co-Chair

Shawn P. Winsor is a bioethicist working in clinical practice, public policy, education, and research. An area of specialty is assisted reproductive health in support of which he created the ethics committees at Toronto’s Reproductive Care Centre and Trio Fertility, as well as for North America’s largest network of ART clinics, The Fertility Partners. He has been Director of the Ethics Centres at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Trillium Health Partners, and consults for individual and organizational healthcare clients across Canada as the Principal of Winsor Consultants.  Shawn advises provincial (Ontario’s Genetics Advisory Committee and Taskforce on Fetal RhD Genotyping) and national organizations (Canadian Drug Agency and Canadian Medical Association) on bioethics and health technology policy. He is a Member of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Joint Center for Bioethics at the University of Toronto, and is a Vanier Canada Scholar at the Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis at McMaster University. Shawn is proud to have been founding co-chair of the Ethics-Law Special Interest Group of the CFAS. 

Kathleen Hammond, LLB, BA, PhD, MA

Secretary/Treasurer

I am a B.C.L./LL.B candidate at McGill’s Faculty of Law. Prior McGill, I completed a PhD in Sociology from the University of Cambridge, for which I explored the market and regulation of assisted reproductive technologies in Canada. While completing my PhD I was a fellow at the Brocher Foundation, and a fellow of the Embryo Project at Arizona State University. I have been involved with policy development in the area of reproduction for organizations including the World Health Organization. I have shared my research through many different forums, including through webinars for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and of course, the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society annual meetings. In the winter semester, I will be running a fertility law course at McGill’s Faculty of Law.

 

Doreen Brown, LLB, BA, PhD, Ad.E., PhD Honourary

Executive Member

Me Doreen Brown is a practicing attorney with the law firm of Green Glazer, Attorneys. She specializes in the field of family law, adoptions, reproductive technology/fertility law and litigation. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola College in 1974 (Political Science) Cum Laude and from the Faculty of Law, University of Montreal in 1977 and was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1978. Me Brown was a part-time faculty member in the Department of Political Science at Concordia University for 25 years where she taught Women and the Law, Comparative Law, and Family Law. She has lectured and given Webinars several times over the years on adoption, Reproductive Technology, at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, Quebec Bar and CFAS. She also lectured at a CLE conference on adoption at the American Bar Association and at the annual meeting of the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys. She is currently a member of the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys. She is very active on a volunteer basis. She was the first female president of the YM-YWHA Jewish Community Foundation in Montreal. Is National Chair of Technion Canada. Sits on the board of Friendship Circle and Free Hebrew for Juniors, as well as many other community organizations. She also sits on Bar of Quebec Arbitration committee and LGBTQ committee. On June 16th, 2014, she received an Honorary Doctorate from Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. In 2021, Me Brown received Avocate Émérite from the Bar of Québec