Current Affairs

Source: Calcutta High Court

Why in News?

Recently, the Calcutta High Court in the matter of Sudarsan Mandal and Another v. The State of West Bengal & Ors., has held that in cases of In-Vitrio Fertilization (IVF), it is not mandatory that either the sperm or the oocyte must come from the couple seeking IVF themselves.

What was the background of Sudarsan Mandal and Another v. The State of West Bengal & Ors. Case?

• In this case, a plea was filed before the Calcutta High Court by a husband who along with his wife sought to conceive through IVF, after losing their teenage daughter at a young age.
• The couple was facing difficulties due to the husband being 59 years old, and above the limit for IVF according to the Act, while the wife being 46-years old was eligible for the same.
• The Court held that the husband had exceeded the age to donate his gametes to the process, the wife was still eligible under the act, and there was no bar on her to seek IVF treatment.
• Thereafter, the High Court allowed the plea by the couple to receive IVF treatment.

What were the Court’s Observations?

• A single bench of Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya observed that under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 a commissioning couple, who could seek IVF facilities was defined as a married couple who were unable to conceive through natural means.
• It was further held that if the husband could not participate in the IVF process, the couple could still conceive since they were willing to accept donor gametes. Pregnancy can be obtained by handling sperm or oocyte outside the human body. There is no restriction to the effect that either of the two must come from the couple themselves.

What is the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) (Regulation) Act, 2021?

Legal Provisions:

• The ART (Regulation) Act 2021 provides a system for the implementation of the law on surrogacy by setting up of the National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board.
• The Act aims at the regulation and supervision of ART clinics and assisted reproductive technology banks, prevention of misuse, and safe and ethical practice of ART services.

Definition of ART Services:

• The Act defines ART to include all techniques that seek to obtain a pregnancy by handling the sperm or the oocyte (immature egg cell) outside the human body and transferring the gamete or the embryo into the reproductive system of a woman.
• These include gamete donation (of sperm or egg), in vitro fertilization, and gestational surrogacy.

Rights of a child born through ART:

• A child born through ART will be deemed to be a biological child of the commissioning couple and will be entitled to the rights and privileges available to a natural child of the commissioning couple.
• A donor will not have any parental rights over the child.

Application of ART Services:

• As per Section 21(g) of this Act, the clinics shall apply the assisted reproductive technology services.

(i) To a woman above the age of twenty-one years and below the age of fifty years.

(ii) To a man above the age of twenty-one years and below the age of fifty-five years.