Kathmandu: The country's top court has imposed an interim ban on in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and surrogacy practices in Nepal. The court has ordered the closure of all IVF clinics in the country and also banned surrogacy until a final decision is taken in this matter.
A single bench of the court has given this interim order while hearing a PIL filed in the court. A single bench of Justice Tek Prasad Dhungana has banned the operation of IVF clinics being run for childless couples. The Supreme Court in its decision has asked the concerned authorities not to allow the collection, storage and transplantation of women's eggs until the writ is finalized. Similarly, the court has directed the government to file an affidavit within 15 days regarding effective government monitoring of the ongoing practice of surrogacy.
Advocate Ankita Tripathi had filed a writ in the court arguing that despite the growing number of IVF clinics, there is no comprehensive law to monitor sensitive issues such as sperm and egg donation, embryo use and surrogacy. It was also said in this writ that multiple clinics using the same donor, use of genetic material without consent and continued promotion of surrogacy. The Supreme Court has already issued an order regarding surrogacy in which surrogacy has been prohibited as a business.
Advocate Tripathi said that the Supreme Court has drawn attention to the creation of a concrete law, calling the newly introduced guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Population on infertility management services inadequate.
Recently, the Health Ministry of the Government of Nepal issued a guideline regarding the operation of IVF clinics and allowed men and women between the ages of 20 and 35 to donate eggs and sperm. A writ was filed over the apprehension that under the guise of this law, underage girls and boys may be lured with money and be made to do business of egg and sperm donation.
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