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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Bill aims to weed out rent-a-womb clinics-Kounteya Sinha

Bill aims to weed out rent-a-womb clinics-Kounteya Sinha

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published Published on Jul 13, 2012   modified Modified on Jul 13, 2012
-The Times of India

India is all set to weed out and check the ever mushrooming clinics involved in renting a womb or carrying out Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). 

The Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill, prepared by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), will make it mandatory for all clinics involved in treating infertility through procedures like artificial insemination with husband's semen (AIH) or in-vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF) to get registered in the country's maiden National Registry of ART clinics. 

All clinics will require a registration number to operate which they will receive only after they meet "the minimum requirements". A meeting of the ICMR's ART expert committee will be held on Friday to finalize the format that will check ART clinics for compliance with norms. 

ICMR officials said, "All ART clinics will now be checked for whether they are complying with the ART Bill regulations and the authenticity of their treatments. It will become mandatory to register with the ART registry once the Bill is cleared by Parliament." 

Experts said all clinics practicing techniques such as Artificial Insemination with Donor Semen (AID), Gamete Intrafallopian Tube Transfer (GIFT), Tubal Embryo Transfer (TET), Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), Testicular Sperm Aspiration (TESA), Testicular Sperm Extraction (TESE) or processing or storage of gametes (sperm and oocyte) and embryos will have to be part of the registry. 

"Each registrant will be given a unique registration number — to be issued by the ICMR — that could be used by it for any legitimate purpose," officials added. "The Bill is with the law ministry which is finalizing on how it will be presented in Parliament. It is likely to become a law soon," an official said. 

ICMR estimates that 15% of couples around the world are infertile, making infertility as one of the most prevalent medical problems with enormous social implications. 

"With the enormous advances in medicine and medical technologies, 85% of the cases of infertility can be taken care of through medicines, surgery and/or the new medical technologies such as IVF or ICSI. Most of the new technologies aimed at taking care of infertility involve handling of the gamete — spermatozoa or the ooctye — outside the body. They also often involve the donation of spermatozoa or oocyte, or the use of a surrogate mother who would be carrying a baby with whom she has no biological relationship. These technologies not only require expertise, but also open up many avenues for unethical practices that can affect adversely the recipient of the treatment, medically, socially and legally," ICMR said. 

It added that the last 20-odd years have seen an exponential growth of infertility clinics that use techniques. "As of today, anyone can open infertility or ART clinic since no permission is required. Consequently, there has been a mushrooming of such clinics across the country. In public interest, it has become important to regulate the functioning of such clinics to ensure that the services provided are ethical and that the medical, social and legal rights of all those concerned are protected." 

The ICMR's ART Bill, 2010, has put in place several important provisions. It says a woman acting as a surrogate mother in India cannot be less than 21 years or over 35 years. Also, she cannot give more than five live births, including her own children. 

No surrogate mother shall undergo embryo transfer more than three times for the same couple. If a surrogate mother is married, the consent of her spouse is mandatory. Only Indian citizens can be considered for surrogacy. No ART bank or clinic can send an Indian citizen for surrogacy abroad. Strict confidentiality has to be maintained about the donor's identity. 

A would-be surrogate mother will be duty bound not to engage in any act that could harm the fetus during pregnancy and the baby after birth. Besides, an ART clinic cannot mix semen from two individuals before use. 

The world recorded five million babies born through IVF, says the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). 

Fertility tourists are coming to India in droves in search of surrogates from a wide range of countries, including Britain, France, the United States, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Australia, West Asia and Israel. 

Till now, it was also cheap to hire a surrogate mother in India. Hapless village women without strong bargaining power were lured into becoming surrogate mothers. 

The Bill includes a provision that says that foreigner couple will have to identify a local guardian to take care of the surrogate mother during her gestation period as well as after the delivery, till the baby is handed over to the commissioning parents. 

The Bill also says that if the foreigner parents fails to take delivery of the child born to the surrogate mother, within one month of the child's birth, the surrogate mother and the local guardian will be "legally obliged to hand over the child to an adoption agency." 

It adds that the couple will have to bear all expenses of the surrogate mother, including insurance charges and may receive monetary compensation for agreeing to act as a surrogate. It also makes it clear than in case of a divorce between "the commissioning parents, the child born through surrogacy will continue to be their legitimate child." 

So what made India an attractive destination for surrogacy till now? In the US, surrogacy costs up to $120,000 whereas in India, couples pay around 25% of that amount. Having a child in India could cost anything between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 25 lakh. Besides, there is lack of regulation of the ART sector, making India an easy place to have a surrogate baby. Some say surrogacy is a $499-million industry in India.

The Times of India, 13 July, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bill-aims-to-weed-out-rent-a-womb-clinics/articleshow/14858687.cms


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