Why in News?
- The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) notified the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulations) Amendment Rules 2023 (under the ART Act 2021) to provide donors and patients with better medical care and security.
What’s in Today’s Article?
- What is Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)?
- Salient Provisions of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act 2021
- Significance of the Law on ART
- Concerns Regarding the above Provisions
What is Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)?
- It is defined as all techniques used to obtain a pregnancy by handling the sperm or egg cell outside the human body and transferring the embryo into the woman’s reproductive tract.
- These include - sperm donation, in-vitro-fertilisation (IVF) (where the sperm is fertilised in a lab), and gestational surrogacy (child is not biologically related to surrogate).
Salient Provisions of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act 2021:
- Rules for ART clinics & banks:
- Every ART clinic and bank must be registered under the National Registry of Banks and Clinics of India which will maintain a central database with details of such institutions.
- The registration of such clinics and banks is valid for five years and can be renewed for another five years.
- It may be cancelled or suspended if the institution violates the provisions of the Act.
- Conditions for sperm donation & ART services:
- A registered ART bank can screen, collect and store semen from men aged between 21 and 55 years. It can also store eggs from women aged between 23 and 35 years.
- Under the Act, female donors need to be married with at least one child of their own, aged at least three.
- A child born via an ART procedure will be deemed to be the couple’s biological child in the eyes of the law and is entitled to all such rights. The donor does not retain any parental rights over the child.
- Consent and insurance coverage:
- Such ART procedures require the written informed consent of both the couple and the donor.
- The couple seeking an ART procedure must provide insurance coverage for the female donor in case of loss, damage or death of the donor.
- Regulation of ART processes:
- The National and State Board formed under the Surrogacy Act 2021 are also expected to regulate ART services.
- These boards are to advise the government on policy, review and monitor implementation of the law, and formulate a code of conduct for ART clinics and banks.
- Offences:
- Offences under this Act include abandoning or exploiting children born through ART; sale, purchase, or trade of embryos; exploiting the couple or donor in any form; and transfer of an embryo into a male or an animal.
- Such offences are punishable with imprisonment up to 8 to 12 years and a fine up to Rs 10 to 20 lakhs.
- Clinics and banks are prohibited from advertising or offering sex-selective ART.
- Such an offence is punishable with imprisonment ranging between 5 to 10 years or/and a fine of Rs 10 to 25 lakhs.
Significance of the Law on ART:
- A regulation like this is a big step towards preventing congenital abnormalities and in the long run will help the community and eliminate exploitation of donors.
- The provisions will hit the unregulated sector and untrained persons.
Concerns Regarding the above Provisions:
- Limiting available donors: India, much like the rest of the world, is facing a dip in fertility rates and further limiting available donors is likely to bring in more challenges.
- Increased costs for ART cycles: The demand will exceed the supply, leading to increased costs for ART cycles.
- Also, couples seeking egg or sperm donation will face higher expenses as additional investments such as insurance may be required.
- Restricting the number of donation attempts: Most individuals require more than one cycle to conceive, often needing two to three cycles for a higher chance of success.
- Thus, restricting the number of donation attempts has the potential to increase costs and create challenges for couples relying on ARTs.
