Exploring the legality of In-

Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

Table of Contents
 Introduction
 What is IVF ?
 Who is recommended to have IVF?
 How far is IVF safe?
 Legal and Ethical issues
o Defining the ethically wrong done to Pre Embryo
o Defects in Offspring
 Commercialization of IVF
 Wrong done to a Couple
o The case of Frozen Embryos
 Rights of children born out of IVF
 Success rates of IVF
 Current regulations
 Challenges
o Reprogenetics
o Financial challenges
 Suggestions
 Conclusion

Introduction

“Neither flesh of my flesh, nor bone of my bone still

miraculously my own”

The first baby Louise Brown was born in 1978 through In-Vitro fertilization
and since then IVF treatment has benefited millions of people who
experience childlessness. According to an estimate, there are around 5
million IVF infants in the world. Hower scientific advancement of IVF has also
brought legal and social issues with it. The research and literature regarding
In-vitro fertilization have expanded to cover the legal and ethical dimensions
of IVF but it is still not sufficient. IVF is legal in India but there is still no
specific law regarding IVF. In the last 20 years, IVF treatment has gained a
lot of public attention and thus it needs to be properly scrutinised when it
comes to the legal and ethical aspect.
What is IVF ?
In-vitro fertilization is an advanced type of fertility treatment in which
fertilization takes place outside of the body that is used to treat infertility
where other types of Assisted Reproductive technology like surrogacy, etc
failed. It can be described as a process where a woman’s egg and man’s
sperm is combined in a laboratory. A woman has to undergo many IVF
treatments before she gets pregnant.

Who is recommended to have IVF?

IVF is suitable for people who are suffering from infertility. Women who have
damaged, blocked or missing fallopian tubes are recommended to have IVF.
Since it bypasses the fallopian tube completely it is a good option for them.
Women suffering from disorders like Polycystic ovary syndrome or
endometriosis are also recommended to have IVF. Even when a male has
infertility disorders like less sperm count, no sperm count, low sperm count,
IVF is recommended in these situations as well.

How far is IVF safe?

IVF is generally considered to be a safe treatment but there are some risks
involved in having an IVF treatment. As IVF is a medical treatment, it comes
with a small chance of side effects and the most severe of them could be the
Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. This is caused when too many eggs
develop in the ovaries.IVF can also cause multiple pregnancies as more than
one embryo is put back in the uterus. According to a report, around 30% of
IVF can result in multiple pregnancies. IVF also has a higher chance of
causing an ectopic pregnancy.

Legal and Ethical issues

There is a debate on IVF due to many ethical value systems which questions
IVF treatment. As we know how advantageous IVF is but there are some
deep ethical and Legal questions concerned with IVF like:

Defining the ethically wrong done to Pre Embryo

With the growing success of IVF, one thing is never mentioned that is what
happens to all those extra embryos. As many embryos are involved to
improve the chance of pregnancy but only one embryo is used at a time, due
to this those embryos which are not needed are frozen for research work.
Also, these frozen embryos which are not transferred to the uterus are used
for research or else destroyed. If an embryo is considered as an individual
then it is unethical to destroy it. It is similar to intentionally killing an
individual.

As an embryo is a human being and a human being should be recognised as

an individual. The protection of an individual’s life should be from its
conception, from its first moment. But some people argue that embryos are
too primitive to be given rights. Thus, it is ethical to use the embryos for
research and elimination which satisfies the interests of humans.
Unfortunately, discussion on the rights of embryos does not give an answer
to the issue that is if the destruction of embryos is ethical or not.

Defects in Offspring
As the success of IVF depends on the result of many stages of the process,
throughout the process, the main concern is to monitor the safety of the
treatment as the treatment can cause many defects and disorders. The
children born of IVF are more likely to be shorter than the normal children or
even have low weight. It can also cause multiple pregnancies. It is
reasonable to reject the use of a treatment which can cause side effects and
many genetic disorders. So in such cases, can the parents sue the treatment
provider? Should we proceed with technology which can cause defects? No,
we should provide insurance to the parents so that if there is a defect they
can treat it.
Commercialization of IVF
IVF treatment treats an embryo as a commodity because its very nature is
buying and selling. Parents are treating the child through IVF as a commodity
as the offspring can be modified through IVF. We don’t have a right to
disturb the natural process to achieve the results through artificial means.

Wrong done to a Couple

As IVF success depends on the number of embryos transferred in the uterus.
Sometimes this process can cause multiple pregnancies. Multiple pregnancies
are a threat to the mother as it can cause bleeding in the uterus and high
blood pressure. So whether the wrong done by IVF can be ignored due to its
advantages.

The case of Frozen Embryos

Supernumerary embryos are the by-product of the IVF. The embryos are
frozen for next time when the couple wants another child. However, not
every embryo is replaced and not every couple conveys what should be done
with the remaining embryos. This has led to the creation of an excessive
number of embryos which are stored in fertility labs after 10 years for the
research. There are many ethical questions regarding Frozen embryos that
are: what is the fate of the frozen embryos if the couple is dead? Who will
have the ownership of the frozen embryos if there is a divorce? Also, there
has been a concern regarding the time for which the embryos are frozen and
then transferred as this can have detrimental side effects on the fetus.

Rights of children born out of IVF

The protection of the rights of a child born through IVF is important. Different
countries have different laws like in India the Union Government
approved Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Regulation Bill
2020 allows the child born of IVF to enjoy all the rights as a natural biological
child to protect the child from exploitation. The bill also made it mandatory to
conduct tests to identify the genetic defects in the embryos. Also, India
recognises the relationship by blood (adoption included) and IVF does not
pose any question on the blood relationship and the question of paternity of
the offspring.

Success rates of IVF

There are a number of factors on which the success of IVF depends like the
quality of eggs, the cause of infertility, the quality of the semen, at what age
the treatment is going to be done as the older the woman,the fewer her
genetically normal eggs would respond to the treatment. The success rate of
the IVF also depends on the type of treatment received like how the women’s
own eggs are used, the use of donor eggs. In India, the success rate of IVF is
30% to 35% and for young women, it is 40%.

Current regulations
According to the 228th Law Commission of India report, in 2009 the
Assistive reproductive technology industry was recognised as a 25000
crore gold pot. Although in India we do not have a specific law to regulate
IVF, each state has come with its own approach to regulate it. IVF in India
is regulated by the Indian Council of Medical Research. There are some
guidelines which are issued by Indian Council of Medical Research to regulate
In-vitro fertilization like the clinic should not disclose any confidential
information of the donor and the clients except in the cases that involve
court order. If the person is under the age of 21 the gamete presented
should not be used by the clinic. The child born through IVF shall be
presumed as the legitimate child of the parents as it is done with the proper
consent of the parents. The couple must be given mandatory counselling
before the procedure. Human embryos cannot be placed in a non-human
body and all the research on embryos should be done after taking consent
from the Institutional ethical committee.
To make a specific law relating to IVF, the Central Government approved the
Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill 2020. It can be a path-
breaking bill for the women in the country. According to the bill, the
government will form an apex body which will be known as “NATIONAL
BOARD” which will regulate IVF clinics across the country. This board will
make a code of conduct to be observed by the employees working at the
clinics and will decide the minimum standards of work and working
environment to be maintained by the clinics. The bill also proposes to ban
the sale of human embryos. Those involved in trafficking of human
embryos shall be fined 10 lakh rupees for the first time and for the
second time the person could be imprisoned for 12 years. This bill is
the best chance to eliminate exploitation in this field.

Challenges
Some of the risks and challenges of IVF are:

Reprogenetics
One of the challenges of IVF is reprogenetics. As there is an increase in the
scientific knowledge of genomics it can give access to our personal genetic
information. People in the future will start considering reprogenetics
alongside IVF as it will allow them to edit the DNA of embryos according to
them before transferring it into a uterus. It will help them to influence the
particular characteristics of an embryo. Initially, it might help in preventing
genetic disorders but it can be used in another way. It can create
discrimination and division in society.

Financial challenges
IVF treatments are very costly; these treatments are becoming a financial
risk for many people. The cost of IVF treatment in India is around 1.5 lakhs
to 2.5 lakhs and this cost can be a limiting factor for many couples who
wanted to opt for this treatment. With the success rate around 40%, there
should be insurance for the couple opting for this treatment.But insurance
companies fail to provide insurance on this treatment as the insurance only
covers the aftermath, not preplanning. The insurance covers illness and
fertility treatments are not an illness.

Suggestions
Some suggestion regarding the challenges faced by IVF are:

1. Insurance cover should be provided to those who opt for this treatment
as these treatments are costly and can cause a financial burden on the
couple. Paying out of pockets for many couples is not a viable option as
the success rate of IVF is only 30 to 40%.
2. The state should ensure the proper way to use the frozen embryos as it
is unethical to destroy the embryos as the science also considers
embryos as an individual and also the state should set a time limit for
the use of frozen embryos.
3. An intervention should be there when it comes to reprogenetics in
order to accept them legally. Intervention is important for the welfare
of society and for future generations as reprogenetics can create divide
and division in the society.
4. Commercialisation and trafficking of the embryos should be banned and
proper guidelines should be made regarding this.

Conclusion
Around 10% of people suffer from infertility and IVF is a technique through
which people who were not able to experience parenthood are experiencing
parenthood. As we know it is legal and a good option, it is essential to have a
specific law regarding it. The first priority of the government should be to
pass the Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill. This bill can bring
positive impacts on reproductive rights and choice of women in India. As we
know there are many ethical and legal questions regarding the
implementation of IVF we cannot solve all those ethical and legal questions
because those questions differ from society to society but this bill can be
treated as a hallmark to solve such questions related to IVF. As the use of
IVF treatment is increasing, creating a specific law IVF will have a clear way
to bloom in India.