China launches campaign to crack down on illegal fertility treatments

[July 11, 2023]  HONG KONG (Reuters) - China will "severely crack down" on illegal activities related to the use of assisted reproductive technologies such as the buying or selling of sperm or eggs and surrogacy, in a six-month campaign to assuage widespread public concern.

Fourteen government ministries including the country's National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement that assisted reproductive technology can only be used in the country's 543 approved medical institutions.

"In recent years there have been illegal application of fertility technology from time to time which has aroused widespread concern in society," a statement from the NHC said.

In order to standardise the application of assisted human reproductive technologies, the government said it will focus on suppressing illegal and criminal activities including forgery and buying and selling of birth medical certificates from June to December this year.

"The illegal use of human assisted reproductive technology such as surrogacy and illegal collection of eggs seriously damages women's health and rights," the NHC said.

The issuance of false birth medical certificates have caused illegal detention and trafficking of women and other crimes that seriously violate the rights and interests of women and children, it said.

A doctor extracts semen specimen, at the embryologic laboratory of the assisted reproductive centre, at the Beijing Perfect Family Hospital, which specialises in fertility treatments, in Beijing, China April 6, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo

The NHC said other measures would be rolled out including strictly managing patient identification, strengthening the approval and verification of human assisted reproductive technology and increased penalties for medical institutions and personnel who violate regulations.

Concerned about rapid ageing in China, the government's political advisers proposed in March that single and unmarried women should have access to egg-freezing and in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatments, among other services.

China currently only allows married women to access fertility treatments such as IVF and egg-freezing technologies.

(Reporting by Farah Master and the Beijing newsroom; editing by Devika Syamnath)

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