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.
Objectives:
Monitor medical procedures used to assist people to achieve pregnancy.
Provisions of the bill:
It 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.
A national registry and registration authority will maintain a database to assist the national Board to perform its functions.
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.
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
There is no standardisation of protocols and reporting is still very inadequate.
law is Victorian as it doesn’t include lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people (LGBTQ) or single men for exercising the right.
