New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020, with a voice vote.


The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020, was passed in the Lok Sabha in the first week of Winter Session of Parliament.


Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill:


The bill aims to regulate assisted reproductive technology (ART) services such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF) centres, sperm or egg banks besides proposing the constitution of a national board that will set minimum standards of physical infrastructure, laboratory, diagnostic equipment and expert manpower to be employed by clinics and banks.


The bill seeks stringent punishment for those practicing sex selection, sale of human embryos or gametes, or found running agencies, rackets and organisations for such practices in violation of the law.


The bill also proposes the establishment of a national registry and registration authority to maintain a database of all clinics and medical professionals serving in the field.


The national registry to be established under the bill will act as a central database with details of all ART clinics and banks in the nation. 


The state governments will appoint registration authorities for facilitating the registration process. 


The clinics and banks will be registered only if they adhere to certain standards. The registration, which will be valid for five years and can be renewed for a further five years, may be cancelled or suspended if the entity contravenes the provisions of the bill.


Only a woman above the legal age of marriage and below the age of 50 years, as per the bill, can avail of ART services while a man seeking such assistance has to be above the legal age of marriage and below the age of 55 years.


Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill:


The Upper House also proved the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2020, which was earlier approved by the Lok Sabha, with amendments.


The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill relates to surrogacy, an infertility treatment, where a third person, a woman, is the surrogate mother.


There will be a National Surrogacy Board, under the Surrogacy Bill, which will be involved in policy-making and act as a supervisory body.


The State Boards, as per this bill, will act as executive bodies.