|
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.
|
