Aimed to regulate thousands of infertility clinics that have mushroomed over the years in the country, the Union health ministry will soon introduce a Bill, the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2008, which will define the establishment and functioning of these clinics. The government has already published the draft bill and has invited public opinion on the proposed bill.

The bill, once it gets the Parliament nod, will provide for a national framework for the regulation and supervision of assisted reproductive technology (better known as infertility clinics) and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Drafted by an 11-member expert committee appointed by the Health Ministry, the Bill proposes to establish a National Advisory Board and state Boards to regulate and supervise the establishment and functioning of the infertility clinics in the country.

Apart from putting strict parameters for the establishment of an infertility clinic, the Bill also defines the minimum requirement regarding staff in an infertility clinic and minimal physical requirements for a clinic.

The need for a Bill regulating the infertility clinics was felt in the wake of mushrooming of infertility clinics in the country ever since the successful birth of the world's first baby conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer occurred on July 25, 1978, in the UK. The world's second IVF baby was born 67 days later on October 3, 1978 in Kolkata. But, India's first scientifically documented IVF baby was, however, born on August 6, 1986 in Mumbai through the support of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Since then, the country witnessed the establishment of thousands of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) Clinics or infertility clinics.

The advent of any new technology that affects mankind raises several technical and moral dilemmas and poses many ethical and technical challenges. ART is no exception. In the Indian context where barrenness is looked down upon, infertile patients look up to ART as the last resort to parenthood. Many of these technologies require enormous technical expertise and infrastructure. However, the success rate is below 30 per cent under the best of circumstances. Moreover, it taxes the couple's endurance physically, emotionally and monetarily. Many of these clinics do not have adequate trained manpower and infrastructure facilities to deliver these highly sophisticated technologies and even services provided by some of these clinics are highly questionable. In some cases, the infertile couple are being cheated by providing relatively simple procedure and charged for complicated and expensive procedures.

By enacting a Bill, the government wanted to control these violations.