ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY (REGULATION) BILL, 2020                

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Context

• The Lok Sabha passed the the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020, that proposes the establishment of a national registry and registration authority for all clinics and medical professionals serving in the field.

About

• The ART bill seeks to set minimum standards and codes of conduct for fertility clinics and egg/sperm banks.
• The bill provides for the “safe and ethical practice of assisted reproductive technology services”, including egg or sperm donation, in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI), and gestational surrogacy.
• The bill also aims to introduce protections for egg donors, gestational surrogates, and children conceived through ART services.
• Offences under the bill include clinics offering sex selection, abandoning or exploiting children born through ART, the selling, buying, or importing of human embryos, and exploiting the couple or donors concerned in any form.
• Proposed jail terms for violations range from five to 12 years, and fines from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.

Need for the bill

• India has one of the highest growths in the number ART centres and ART cycles performed every year.
• 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.
• There is no standardisation of protocols and reporting is still very inadequate.

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