As with all medical practice in the United States, safety in reproductive medicine is assured by a combination of state and federal government regulation and professional self-regulation that includes facility accreditation and practitioner certification. On the state level, there is a strict physician licensure system. On the federal level, several agencies enforce standards and practices designed to protect public health and safety. Several national groups accredit laboratories as well. In the realm of professional self- regulation, an on-going system of quality assurance includes specialty training and certification of physicians, accreditation of clinics and ethical and practice guidelines developed by professional organizations through consensus and evidence
