Don’t tell doctors how to practise reproductive medicine. Using this dramatic line, the country’s infertility specialists have written a 10-point rejoinder to the central government’s Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill 2014.
“The bill should not include technical details telling the physician how to practice reproductive medicines. Even the MTP (Medical Termination of Pregnancy) Act & the PCPNDT (Pre-Conception & Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques Act) do not advise physicians on how to perform MTP, ultrasonography, amniocentesis, etc,” said a letter by the Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction (ISAR) last week.
ISAR, an umbrella organisation of infertility specialists in the country, wrote the letter in response to the government’s call for suggestions to its draft bill. “The law should act as a guideline and not get into specifics,” said ISAR past president Dr Manish Banker from Ahmedabad.
ISAR members have said the government should rework certain provisions that duplicate functions laid down by other Acts and hold another meeting with doctors before approving the draft bill.
“Why should persons of Indian origin living overseas be banned from seeking surrogacy here?” asked ISAR president Dr Hrishikesh Pai from Mumbai. “We have a good system developed by the ministry of home in 2013 that has been working well with countries such as the US, the UK, Australia and Israel. Why change it now?” he added.
One of the main contentions is “steep penalties” laid down in the ART bill 2014. “We have to remember that assisted reproductive techniques are legitimate medical procedures, and not a crime,” said Dr Banker.
The doctors want “graded punishment” for offences such as clerical errors, lack of proper permission, harm caused by wrong medical treatment and exploitation of surrogate. “The ART bill 2014 wants an independent legal entity to search, seize and conduct raids. Won’t these new provisions lead to confusion as the MTP and PCPNDT Acts have similar provisions?” said a doctor.
Doctors have pointed to many technical issues, such as the insistence that intrauterine insemination (IUI) can only be done by infertility specialists. “Over 30,000 gynaceologists offer IUI as it’s the most basic form of IVF in which the husband’s sperm are transferred to a woman,” said ISAR president-elect Dr Narendra Malhotra.
They wondered why the government had chosen 23 years as the minimum age for seeking surrogacy. “Why should a woman wait until 23 before taking up surrogacy if she was diagnosed with ovarian failure right after marriage at 18 or 19?” asked Dr Malhotra. As the new bill wants a third party to oversee egg and sperm donation, the cost of IVF treatment could increase, they said.
Dr Malhotra said, “The ART bill has been in the process for over decade, so why the rush to send notifications? We should hold a consensus meeting and discuss the provisions.”