NEW DELHI: The cabinet approved Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Regulation Bill, 2020 proposing a legal framework and code of conduct to keep a check on in vitro fertilisation, embryo transfers and sperm banks - another set of infertility related services and industry that is mushrooming rapidly in the country.

The bill proposes a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh for anyone indulging in sale of embryo or trafficking at the first instance, and jail term of up to 12 years after that. It seeks to establish a national registry and registration authority which will be applicable to all medical professionals and clinics operating or providing services in the field of ART.

The bill also envisages setting up a national board and a state board to help implement the legal framework. Besides, it proposes to create a Central database of all clinics and banks across the country. The database will also include detailed information about services like the nature of the method through which the outcome is achieved, Minister for Women and Child Development (WCD) Smriti Irani said after the Cabinet meeting. The Central database will also be used for research purposes in this particular segment of health, she added.

“This Bill signifies that India has decided to respect reproductive rights of women,” Irani said, highlighting that 2020 will indeed be the “decade of Indian women”.

The Bill prohibits sex determination and sex selection. It also contains provisions to ensure confidentiality of the donor as well as the recipient of such services.

The nod for the ART Bill comes on the heels of the parliamentary committee recommendations on the Surrogacy Regulation Bill in Rajya Sabha and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Amendment Bill, 2020, that was approved by the Cabinet last month.

The Surrogacy Regulation Bill was sent to a 23-member select committee of the Parliament, headed by the BJP's Bhupender Yadav. In its report tabled recently during the Budget session, the committee said it would be prudent to bring the ART Bill before the Surrogacy Bill, 2019, to establish a regulatory mechanism for ART clinics.

While all the three Bills are designed around protecting and recognizing women’s reproductive rights, experts have been insisting that the ART Regulation Bill is supposed to be more overarching and the first step to regulate the sector. Without registration and a proper database of medical institutions and clinics providing such services, it is impossible to regulate services like surrogacy and abortion, experts say.

Estimates show that ART, of which surrogacy and IVF are most commonly used procedures, is over Rs 3000 crore industry.

