Assisted Reproduction – World Congress for Freedom of scientific research

Sofia Vergara lawsuit: Who exactly owns frozen embryos?

By Radhika Sanghani 1:39PM BST 17 Apr 2015 Modern Family actress Sofia Vergara is reportedly engaged in a legal battle with her ex-fiancé Nick Loeb over their embryos. Yep, you heard me correctly. Back in 2013, the couple underwent IVF, which resulted in fertilised eggs created from Loeb’s sperm and Vergara’s eggs. The couple then split

Polish government backs bill to regulate IVF treatment

WARSAW, March 10 (Reuters) – Poland’s government approved a draft bill to regulate in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment on Tuesday, in a move aimed at attracting voters ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections later this year. IVF has been performed in Poland for the last 25 years, but traditionally Roman Catholic Poland has so far not

French same-sex couples allowed to adopt children conceived via IVF

By James Brooks France’s top civil court, the Court of Cassation, has ruled that children conceived via assisted reproduction overseas can be adopted by same-sex parents. Following a law change in 2013, homosexual couples in France are allowed to adopt but remain barred from using IVF. A few French courts had thus refused adoption rights to

Quebec Surrogacy Contracts May Soon Be Recognized

The Canadian Press Quebec is slowly but surely moving toward officially recognizing contracts drawn up between surrogate mothers and couples looking to conceive. If it happens, it could mean the dawning of a small revolution in family law in the province. Born to surrogate, child has no legal mother, Quebec judge rules Quebec to

No Longer Anonymous in Germany

By Michael Cook The days of anonymous sperm donation are over in Germany. The German Supreme Court has settled a patchwork of decisions and ruled that children of any age may request the identity of their biological father. “There is no specific minimum age necessary for the child,” the judges said. Parents may make a request

Thailand bans commercial surrogacy for foreigners

Thailand has passed a law banning foreigners from paying Thai women to be surrogates, after two high-profile cases sparked debate last year. The legislation also bans the use of agents, or any promotion of women willing to carry babies for others. Last year the case of a little boy born with Down’s syndrome put Thailand’s

Three-parent babies: House of Lords approves law despite fears children could be born sterile

Sarah Knapton, Science Editor Peers have approved historic legislation which would see Britain become the first country in the world to create three-parent babies, despite fears children could be born sterile. Health minister Lord Howe urged the House of Lords to pass the amendment to the 2008 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act and permit

Italy: Ministry of Health proposes draft legislation on gamete donation.

The Ministry of Health made public a draft of legislation aiming to regulate gamete donation. The draft embraces donor’s anonymity with some limitations. A donor can be re-contacted by the physician treating a couple and asked to share some medical information provided the donor gave informed consent to being re-contacted and access his/her medical record

First Irish birth involving PGD.

The first birth in Ireland involving the fertility technique, PGD (pre-implantation genetic diagnosis), has been confirmed by the Cork Fertility Centre. The healthy baby girl, Bridget, was born on June 27 at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH). PGD allows people with a specific inherited condition the option of trying to avoid passing it on to

Fertility clinic opens in Kigali, Rwanda

Rwandans will no longer have to travel abroad to get fertility-related care following the opening of a fertility clinic in Kigali. In April 2014, the Kigali IVF and Fertility Clinic opended its doors in Kimironko suburb of Gasabo District, Kigali. The facility will initially offer services like In vitro fertilisation (IVF), a fertility treatment procedure that enables