Why in news?
The Union Cabinet on 19th February 2020, approved the Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill, 2020 to monitor medical procedures used to assist people to achieve pregnancy.
India and ART
- India has become one of the major centres of this global fertility industry, with reproductive medical tourism becoming a significant activity.
- This has also introduced a plethora of legal, ethical and social issues; yet, there is no standardisation of protocols and reporting is still very inadequate
Provisions and aims of the Bill
- The Bill provides for a national Board which will lay down a code of conduct to be observed by those operating clinics
- It will also formulate minimum standards for laboratory and diagnostic equipment and practices to be followed by human resources employed by clinics and banks.
- The States and Union Territories will also have to form State Boards and State authorities within three months of the notification of the proposed legislation.
- The Bill also proposes stringent punishment for those who practise sex selection, indulge in sale of human embryos or gametes and those who operate rackets.
- The Bill will also ensure confidentiality of intending couples and protect the rights of the child.
Background
- Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is used to treat infertility.
- It includes fertility treatments that handle both a woman’s egg and a man’s sperm.
- It works by removing eggs from a woman’s body. The eggs are then mixed with sperm to make embryos.The embryos are then put back in the woman’s body.
- In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most common and effective type of ART.
