UTILIZING LEGISLATIVE INTERVENTION TO PROMOTE ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Assisted Reproductive Technologies is a process aimed at facilitating procreation devoid of physical sexual intercourse between the male and female partners. The procedure is medically designed to assist infertile couples to achieve conception and bear children, notwithstanding the problem of infertility. There are different methods of ART. However, each depends on the causes of the infertility as determined through clinical diagnosis. Generally, ART involves the manipulation of human sperm and ovum outside the woman’s body to facilitate fertilization and conception. It is against this background that the authors canvassed for a specific legislative intervention in the application of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) in Nigeria. The authors further argued for the use of assisted reproductive technology to achieve conception in the face of condition of subsisting infertility which has introduced several emerging issues that require legislative intervention. The paper noted that while several countries have taken deliberate actions to establish legal and ethical guidelines to regulate ART, Nigeria has failed to do so despite the relatively long duration of the practice in the country. The paper maintained that the development of binding and enforceable legal norms is fundamental to entrenching transparency, accountability, and quality assurance in ART practices. The authors adopted the doctrinal research approach and thereafter recommended the establishment of flexible and decentralized legal and institutional regulatory mechanisms that would create a minimum standard of practice and define the rights and obligations of individuals who are involved in the utilization of ART techniques in the country.