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The Proposed Act Respecting Assisted Human Reproduction

May 9, 2002
Ottawa, Ontario

The Government tabled today an Act Respecting Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR), which will bring Canada up to date with measures taken in other major industrialized countries through a comprehensive and integrated approach. We have drawn on the best practices and experiences from countries around the world.

The proposed Act has three main objectives:

  • to help Canadians who use assisted human reproduction to build a family without compromising their health and safety;
  • to prohibit unacceptable practices such as human cloning; and
  • to ensure that AHR related research, which may help find treatments for infertility and serious diseases, takes place within a regulated environment.

There is currently no comprehensive federal or provincial legislative framework governing assisted human reproduction procedures and related research.

The proposed legislation is the result of extensive consultations with the provinces and territories, as well as with numerous stakeholder groups and concerned members of the public. It is based on Canadian values, and reflects a consensus on some very complex and challenging issues.

Families

A core principle of the proposed legislation is free and informed consent. Any procedure to assist human reproduction – as well as AHR-related research – would require prior written consent of the donors based on the most current information on AHR so that they could make an informed decision.

Provisions in the legislation would ensure that reproductive technologies are safe and healthy options.

It would create regulations on the licensing of clinics, the proper handling of eggs, sperm and embryos, as well as the number of children that could be born from a single sperm or egg donor.

It would also give children of AHR full access to all medical information about their donor parents. As adults, they could have access to information about the identity of their donor parents, provided the donors have also consented to the release of this information.

Prohibited Activities

The proposed legislation would prohibit both reproductive and therapeutic human cloning, as well as a number of activities that are unacceptable to Canadians – activities such as the sale and purchase of human embryos; paying a donor for sperm or eggs or providing goods or services in exchange; and buying the services of a surrogate.

Other examples of prohibited practices would include the creation of in vitro embryos for any purpose other than creating a human being or improving assisted human reproduction procedures, changing the DNA of human sperm, eggs or embryos so that the change can be passed on to subsequent generations, maintaining a human embryo outside the body of a woman past the 14th day of its development, and creating human/non-human combinations for reproductive purposes.

Regulated Research

Research using in vitro embryos may answer many questions about the causes of infertility. It may also advance the development of treatments in spinal-cord injuries or diseases like juvenile diabetes, Alzheimer’s or cancer.

It does, however, raise profound concerns about how to balance scientific progress with public safety and deeply held moral and ethical views.

The legislation would ensure that promising research related to assisted human reproduction takes place within a regulated environment – an environment where health and safety come first and where Canadian values are respected.

Regulatory Agency

To monitor and enforce the regulations set forth in the Act, our government would create the Assisted Human Reproduction Agency of Canada (AHRAC).

This Agency would operate as a separate organizational entity from Health Canada. It would report to Parliament through the Minister of Health.


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