Lyn Frans
A bill meant to restrict the use of surrogacy to individuals with infertility or health challenges that prevent them from reproducing naturally was on Tuesday tabled in Uganda’s parliament.
The bill also seeks to set the minimum age for surrogates to 18.
Medical practitioners who defy these provisions can be imprisoned for up to five years if the bill passes.
Medical practitioners can also be jailed for life if they use their own gametes or embryos or those not selected by their clients.
Donors must also be free of genetic diseases.
The Human-Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill was tabled by Ugandan MP Sarah Opendi and proposes more regulations for other aspects of human-assisted reproduction.
The bill also seeks to license fertility centres and regulate the donation and storage of sperm, oocytes and embryos.
Surrogacy is a method of assisted reproduction where a woman (the surrogate) carries and gives birth to a child for another individual or couple (the intended parents). There are two main types of surrogacy: Traditional and Gestational.
In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate is genetically related to the child she carries because her own egg is fertilized by the intended father’s sperm or donor sperm through artificial insemination.
In gestational surrogacy, the surrogate carries a child conceived using the egg and sperm of the intended parents or donors through in vitro fertilization (IVF). The surrogate has no genetic relationship to the child she carries.
Surrogacy can be an option for individuals or couples who are unable to conceive a child on their own due to various reasons such as infertility, medical conditions, or same-sex couples. It involves legal agreements and medical procedures, and the laws surrounding surrogacy vary by country and state.
