Hope for childless women as MPs give nod to surrogacy law

Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo at a past event in Homabay. [Michael Mute, Standard] Kenya has inched closer to creating a legal framework to guide the surrogacy process after Parliament on Wednesday approved amendments to the Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill, 2022. The Bill, sponsored by Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo, seeks to introduce guidelines to regulate the process as well as other aspects of assisted reproductive technology. Having gotten the nod from the National Assembly after a similar attempt flopped in the 12th Parliament, the Bill now heads to the Senate for consideration and subsequent approval. The amendments, which are also aimed at providing more stringent measures to prevent financial exploitation by women who would wish to be "career" surrogates, had been proposed by the Health committee and were passed by the House after the Bill was read for the third time. During its consideration, lawmakers noted that the Bill would come as a reprieve to "unintentionally childless" women could soon reap the benefits legally. "We have given Kenyans a platform, legally, because we live in an adverse society to allow a platform, which will not contradict basic human rights and the different scriptures. Once this bill is passed, I am sure critical other components will be added to this," said Health CS Aden Duale. Endebess MP Robert Pukose called for a realignment of the Social Health Authority (SHA) regulations to ensure that it covers surrogacy. "What we have done is to create a legal process. We are hoping that SHA and Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) will be amended to give coverage for this so that all our young Kenyans can have children without much problems," said Pukose. Marsabit Woman Representative Naomi Waqo termed the Bill a "ray of hope" for women who had been silently suffering. Her sentiments were lauded by Health committee chairperson James Nyikal. Once the Bill is approved, women wishing to become surrogate mothers will only do so three times. They will also be required to wait for two years between each birth to be eligible for another surrogacy agreement. Surrogacy is a process in which a woman carries and delivers a baby for a couple or individual. Surrogacy is a process in which a woman carries and delivers a baby for a couple or individual. [iStockphoto] Under the proposals, men wishing to donate their sperms or women seeking to donate their embryos to aid infertile couples cannot do so more than 10 times. For one to undergo the assisted reproductive technology, the draft dictates that a doctor who is an assisted reproductive technology expert must approve. Assisted reproductive technology includes medical procedures used primarily to address infertility. This subject involves procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection, cryopreservation of gametes or embryos, and the use of fertility medication. The proposals also seek to regulate medical practitioners undertaking assisted reproductive technology, and state that they shall not keep or use an embryo other than a human embryo, place a human embryo in any animal or transfer an embryo in a woman other than a human embryo. They are also prohibited from using a human embryo in circumstances prohibited by law, replace any part of a human embryo with another part from a cell of any person or embryo, or any subsequent development of an embryo, except where such replacement is for purposes of solving a medical problem. Medical practitioners are also prohibited from undertaking any form of human cloning. The bill provides that a man whose sperm have been used should not be treated as the father of the child unless the mother was married to him at the time of his death, and the man had consented to parentage. "A person who contravenes the provisions of this section commits an offence and shall, upon conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding Sh5 million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to both," says the Bill.

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