The much awaited Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill (ART Bill), drafted by the union health ministry to regulate thousands of infertility clinics that have mushroomed in the country over the years, may soon be introduced in Parliament as the ministry has almost finalised the Bill.

According to sources, the health ministry has made a cabinet note on the Bill and the same has been circulated to different departments for their comments and suggestions. The ministry received several comments and suggestions on the cabinet note and all these suggestions, wherever possible, have been incorporated in the Bill. The Bill is almost final now, sources said. However, the sources refused to comment on whether the Bill will be introduced in the forthcoming Budget session of Parliament which is scheduled to be held in the second week of July. It is upto the government to decide on it, I cannot comment on that, sources added.

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. 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 government felt the need for a Bill regulating the infertility clinics in the wake of mushrooming of infertility clinics in the country since the early 80s. 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.

But, in the absence of a regulation, 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 couples 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.