Lok Sabha Passes Bill To Regulate Assisted Reproductive Technology

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill 2020 for prevention of misuse and for safe and ethical practice of assisted reproductive technology services. The bill has been passed with amendments.The Bill, first tabled in the Lok Sabha on 14 September 2020, defines "assisted reproductive technology" to include all techniques that attempt to obtain a pregnancy by handling the sperm or the oocyte outside the human body and transferring the gamete or the embryo into the reproductive system of a woman.Significantly, the proposed legislation was referred to the parliamentary standing committee in October 2020, for further examination. The standing committee tabled its report in Parliament on 19th March this year.While tabling the Bill, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the Centre has considered the suggestions made by the standing committee.The need to bring the legislation was felt in face of the rising demand for ART services. "India has over the years become one of the major centres of this global fertility industry, with reproductive medical tourism becoming a significant activity...However, there is yet no standardisation of protocols and reporting is still very inadequate," the statement of objects annexed to the Bill stated.The Bill contains provisions for the protection of rights of the donors, the commissioning couple, and the children born out of ART.Regulation of ART clinicsThe Bill provides for establishment of National Registry of Clinics and Banks, which will act as a central database for details of all the clinics and banks in the country.The National Registry will grant registration to such clinics and banks that are in a position to provide such facilities and maintain such equipment and standards including specialized manpower, physical infrastructure and diagnostic facilities. The same will be valid for a period of five years and can be renewed for a further five years.The registration may however be cancelled of the Registration Authority is satisfied that there has been a breach of the provisions of the Act or Rules framed thereunder.National and State BoardsThe Bill also provides for establishment of National and State Boards for Surrogacy for regulation of ART services.The National Board shall advise the Central Government on policy matters relating to the assisted reproductive technology. It will also review and monitor the implementation of the Act, rules and regulations made thereunder and recommend to the Central Government, any suitable changes therein.Conditions for donation of gametesAs per the Bill, the sourcing of gametes shall be done only by a registered ART bank. It may collect semen from males between 21-55 years of age (both inclusive) and oocytes from females between 23-55 years of age.It further provides that an oocyte donor shall be an ever married woman having at least one live child of her own with a minimum age of 3 years. Further, the donation can be done only once in her life and not more than 7 oocyte shall be retrieved from the donor.The ART services shall be applied to woman should be above the legal age of marriage (18 years) and below the age of 55 and a man should be above the legal age of marriage (21) and below the age of 55 years.Significantly, the assisted reproductive technology services shall be available to a commissioning couple or a woman. The Bill also provides for pre-implantation genetic testing to screen the human embryo for known, pre-existing, heritable or genetic diseases or for such other purposes as may be prescribed.Rights of a child born through ARTSection 31 of the Bill provides that the child born through assisted reproductive technology shall be deemed to be a biological child of the commissioning couple and the said child shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges available to a natural child only from the commissioning couple under any law for the time being in force. A donor shall relinquish all parental rights over the child or children which may be born from his or her gamete.Conditions for offering ART servicesNo ART clinic shall perform any treatment or procedure without the written consent of all parties seeking assisted reproductive technology. Further, the commissioning couple shall provide an insurance coverage in favour of the oocyte donor.The clinics shall not offer to provide a couple or woman with a child of a pre-determined sex.CounsellingThe Bill provides that assisted reproductive technology clinics shall provide professional counselling to commissioning couple and woman about all the implications and chances of success of ART procedures in the clinic.They shall also inform the advantages, disadvantages and cost of the procedures, their medical side effects, risks including the risk of multiple pregnancy and any such other matter as may help the commissioning couple to arrive at an informed decision that would most likely be the best for the...

Lok Sabha Passes Bill To Regulate Assisted Reproductive Technology

Akshita Saxena

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