INTRODUCTION
Our country has been waiting for legislation on Assisted Reproductive Technology for a long time. Nearly 60 million people in this country who are of reproductive adult age suffer from being infertile, which is defined as being unable to bear a child after one year of unprotected coitus and thus the bill seeks to provide relief to those affected thereof. Surrogacy cannot occur until fertilization occurs. So the government, by bringing Assisted Reproductive Technology, did the same thing as it brought the cart and is now bringing the horse. The bill continues to be bigoted by being applied only to married heterosexual couples and excluding single parents, transgender people, and LGBTQ people from benefiting the same. This bill encourages extracorporeal fertilization or fertilization outside the human body whereby making the baby happen by extracting the gametes (eggs) from the women and the sperm from the male partner and completely replicating outside in the laboratory whatever we have inside us as human beings. It was a difficult task, but it is a matter of pride for India.
Assisted reproductive technology (regulation) bill, 2020
The bill was introduced in parliament, during the monsoon session and it is not being referred to the standing committee on health for further examination. Assisted reproductive technology or ART covers medical procedures to address infertilities these include IVF (In vitro fertilization), Egg and sperm donation, and surrogacy. There are nearly 1,900 ART clinics and banks in the country providing such fertility treatments and services to couples who are unable to concave naturally,
The bill seeks to:
set down the condition for couples and donors to accept and offer ART services
create a central database for all ART clinics and banks
establish a national board to prescribe a code of conduct and standards
ART procedures can only be carried up with written and informed consent of both the party seeking ART services as well as the donor. The party seeking ART services will be required to provide insurance coverage in favour of the egg donor. A man between the age of 21 and 55 can donate the semen and women between the age of 23 and 35 can donate eggs at the registered ART bank. In addition, women should already be married with one child who is at
At least 3 years old before donating her egg. Every ART bank and clinic must be registered with the national registry of banks and clinics of India which will act as a central database. Clinics and banks will only be registered if they adhere to certain standards such as:
physical infrastructure
specialized manpower
diagnostic facility
The registration will be valid for five years and can be renewed again, registration can be cancelled or suspended if they are found in violation of the bill. The clinic is prohibited to provide a child with predetermined sex .any bank or clinic advertising or offering sex-selective ART will be punishable with a jail type of 5 to 10 years, or a fine of 10 to 20 lakhs, or both.
Offences under the bill
Some of the offences under the bill include:
abandoning, or exploiting children born through ART
Selling, purchasing, trading, or importing human embryos or reproductive cells
Exploiting commissioning couples, women, or sperm and egg donors in any form
These acts will be punishable with a fine of Rs. 5-10 lakhs for the first violation. For a subsequent violation prison term of 8 to 12 years, and a fine of 10 to 12 lakhs have been prescribed.
Role of the national board
The national and state boards for surrogacy that were set up under the 2019 surrogacy regulation bill will act as national and state boards for the regulation of ART services as well. The national bill be responsible for
Advising the center on ART related policy matters
Reviewing and monitoring the implementation of the ART bill
Formulating the code of conduct and standards for ART banks and clinics
The state boards will coordinate enforcement of policies and guidelines for ART based on the recommendations and regulations of national boards. Courts can take cognizance of offences only on a complaint made by the national and state board or any officer authorized by the boards
Right of the child born through ART services
The child born through ART completely belongs to the commissioning couple and the commissioning couple will become biological parents and the child will become the biological child. They will be entitled to all the rights and privileges available to the natural
child. The donor will have no parental right to the child. Any discrimination done against ART children will be counted as an offense and will be punishable.
CONCLUSION
ART bill was introduced in parliament on September 12, 2020 Lok Sabha passed the same to the standing committee. The committee had a healthy discussion on the bill after they submitted a report in which they gave their suggestion which was duly noted and acknowledged. The bill is a great help to the couple who were not able to reproduce naturally. The child was to be given legitimate status. Bill provided standard protocols to the clinics. Bill worked the way expected and had grown much earlier. India has had the maximum number of clinics built in the last few years. A woman who might be entering her late thirties who might be in fear of not being able to reproduce in the future can have a choice to get her eggs extracted and fertilize them with the designated sperm and keep it frozen so that at the later stage she can get it injected and reproduce.
REFERENCES
https://youtu.be/HS1UdCyRAS8
https://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-assisted-reproductive-technology-regulation-bill-2020 https://youtu.be/-7hQADbMmmw
https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/lok-sabha-passes-bill-to-regulate-assisted-reproductive- technology-186756