Figure 5: No Copyright Infringement Intended

Context:

• 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. 

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