Religious group wants IVF Bill withdrawn

A group of Christian professionals now wants Parliament to halt debate on the In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) Bill until the Ministry of Health develops a policy for such a specialised process.

The Kenya Christian Professionals Forum (KCPF) has petitioned the Clerk of the National Assembly Justin Bundi asking that the Bill be withdrawn in its entirety.

The group said that although IVF is meant to give childless couples a chance at parenthood, the medical procedure raised serious ethical and health questions which had not been dealt with in the Bill.

“Whereas the Bill may have been introduced in good faith as a means to legally avail channels for infertile couples to bear children, it is our humble submission that the issue of IVF should not be dealt with as simplistically as the Bill has purported to do,” the group said.

“IVF is an expensive and risky procedure with multiple legal, ethical and medical issues to be considered,” KCPF added.

DEVELOP GUIDELINES

The Christian professionals said the National Health Bill which is before the House should first be finalised to enable the Ministry of Health develop national guidelines and polices on such specialist areas as IVF.

The group argued that the private Bill was developed without the necessary consultation with the wider medical profession as well as other stakeholders including but not limited to faith-based organisations.

“It is our submission that this Bill should be withdrawn in its entirety, pending development of policy and suitable legislation by the Executive, through the Ministry of Health,” said the organisation in its petition.

“Further, there is no policy in place to guide the law-making process and it is our submission that policy should be the foundation upon which the law rests. In this regard we specifically point out the Reproductive Health Bill and the In-Vitro Fertilisation Bill,” KCPF argues it its submission.

In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process by which an egg is fertilised by sperm outside the body, after which the embryo is transferred to the uterus.

Ethical issues the group raised includes what happens to extra embryos which remain after a woman attains pregnancy, arguing that disposing them of would be equal to abortion.

The nature of IVF is such that due to the expense, technical skill needed and health risk to the female donor, more eggs are collected and fertilised than would be used in one cycle of attempting pregnancy.

The Christian professionals also argued that the process was prone to being abused by scientists who might decide to put unused embryos to illegal researches.

“The Constitution of Kenya rightly recognises that every person has a right to life and that the life of a person begins at conception. In-vitro fertilisation then means that human life will be developed in a laboratory. This life has equal rights to a person unborn or born,” said the group.

The Christian professionals also said the Bill had not extensively dealt with the issue of surrogate mothers.