Delhi HC issues notice to Centre on PIL challenging ban on adopting frozen embryos

A Bench of Chief Justice D. K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia issued notice to the Centre while hearing a PIL filed by IVF specialist Dr. Aniruddha Narayan Malpani who approached the court challenging Sections 25(2), 27(5), 28(2) and 29 of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 and Rule 13(1)(a) of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Rules.

The petition stated that a complete ban on embryo adoption, even when the adoption is altruistic, voluntary, and consensual, results in unequal and discriminatory treatment between similarly placed infertile couples.

Also Read: ‘Frozen embryos are as good as fresh ones for IVF births’

It added that although embryo adoption was not defined under the law, it referred to the process in which a cryo-preserved embryo, created through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) by one individual or couple, was voluntarily donated to another woman or couple for gestation and childbirth.

The petition argued that embryo adoption was conceptually indistinguishable from child adoption. Also, to prohibit embryo adoption while permitting child adoption created an unreasonable and manifestly arbitrary classification based solely on developmental stage, in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution.

The PIL added that the right to make reproductive choices, including the decision to have a child, is an integral facet of the right to life, dignity, autonomy, and privacy guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. The matter will be heard next in April.