SHORT TITLE

Marginal note:Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Assisted Human Reproduction Act.

PRINCIPLES

Marginal note:Declaration

2. The Parliament of Canada recognizes and declares that

• (a) the health and well-being of children born through the application of assisted human reproductive technologies must be given priority in all decisions respecting their use;

• (b) the benefits of assisted human reproductive technologies and related research for individuals, for families and for society in general can be most effectively secured by taking appropriate measures for the protection and promotion of human health, safety, dignity and rights in the use of these technologies and in related research;

• (c) while all persons are affected by these technologies, women more than men are directly and significantly affected by their application and the health and well-being of women must be protected in the application of these technologies;

• (d) the principle of free and informed consent must be promoted and applied as a fundamental condition of the use of human reproductive technologies;

• (e) persons who seek to undergo assisted reproduction procedures must not be discriminated against, including on the basis of their sexual orientation or marital status;

• (f) trade in the reproductive capabilities of women and men and the exploitation of children, women and men for commercial ends raise health and ethical concerns that justify their prohibition; and

• (g) human individuality and diversity, and the integrity of the human genome, must be preserved and protected.

INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION

Marginal note:Definitions

3. The following definitions apply in this Act.

“Agency”

« Agence »

“Agency” means the Assisted Human Reproduction Agency of Canada established by subsection 21(1).

“assisted reproduction procedure”

« technique de procréation assistée »

“assisted reproduction procedure” means any controlled activity referred to in section 10 that is performed for the purpose of creating a human being.

“chimera”

« chimère »

“chimera” means

• (a) an embryo into which a cell of any non-human life form has been introduced; or

• (b) an embryo that consists of cells of more than one embryo, foetus or human being.

“consent”

« consentement »

“consent” means fully informed and freely given consent that is given in accordance with the applicable law governing consent and that conforms to the provisions of the Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research Guidelines released by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in March, 2002, as detailed in the Regulations.

“controlled activity”

« activité réglementée »

“controlled activity” means an activity that may not be undertaken except in accordance with sections 10 to 12.

“donor”

« donneur »

“donor” means

• (a) in relation to human reproductive material, the individual from whose body it was obtained, whether for consideration or not; and

• (b) in relation to an in vitro embryo, a donor as defined in the regulations.

“embryo”

« embryon »

“embryo” means a human organism during the first 56 days of its development following fertilization or creation, excluding any time during which its development has been suspended, and includes any cell derived from such an organism that is used for the purpose of creating a human being.

“foetus”

« foetus »

“foetus” means a human organism during the period of its development beginning on the fifty-seventh day following fertilization or creation, excluding any time during which its development has been suspended, and ending at birth.

“gene”

« gène »

“gene” includes a nucleotide sequence, and an artificially created gene or nucleotide sequence.

“genome”

« génome »

“genome” means the totality of the deoxyribonucleic acid sequence of a particular cell.

“health reporting information”

« renseignement médical »

“health reporting information” means information provided under this Act respecting

• (a) the identity, personal characteristics, genetic information and medical history of donors of human reproductive material and in vitro embryos, persons who have undergone assisted reproduction procedures and persons who were conceived by means of those procedures; and

• (b) the custody of donated human reproductive materials and in vitro embryos and the uses that are made of them.

“human clone”

« clone humain »

“human clone” means an embryo that, as a result of the manipulation of human reproductive material or an in vitro embryo, contains a diploid set of chromosomes obtained from a single — living or deceased — human being, foetus or embryo.

“human reproductive material”

« matériel reproductif humain »

“human reproductive material” means a sperm, ovum or other human cell or a human gene, and includes a part of any of them.

“hybrid”

« hybride »

“hybrid”means

• (a) a human ovum that has been fertilized by a sperm of a non-human life form;

• (b) an ovum of a non-human life form that has been fertilized by a human sperm;

• (c) a human ovum into which the nucleus of a cell of a non-human life form has been introduced;

• (d) an ovum of a non-human life form into which the nucleus of a human cell has been introduced; or

• (e) a human ovum or an ovum of a non-human life form that otherwise contains haploid sets of chromosomes from both a human being and a non-human life form.

“in vitro embryo”

« embryon in vitro »

“in vitro embryo” means an embryo that exists outside the body of a human being.

“licence”

« autorisation »

“licence” means a licence issued in respect of a controlled activity or premises under section 40.

“Minister”

« ministre »

“Minister” means the Minister of Health.

“ovum”

« ovule »

“ovum” means a human ovum, whether mature or not.

“sperm”

« spermatozoïde »

“sperm” means a human sperm, whether mature or not.

“surrogate mother”

« mère porteuse »

“surrogate mother” means a female person who — with the intention of surrendering the child at birth to a donor or another person — carries an embryo or foetus that was conceived by means of an assisted reproduction procedure and derived from the genes of a donor or donors.

Marginal note:Her Majesty bound

4. This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES

Marginal note:Prohibited procedures

• 5. (1) No person shall knowingly

  • (a) create a human clone by using any technique, or transplant a human clone into a human being or into any non-human life form or artificial device;

  • (b) create an in vitro embryo for any purpose other than creating a human being or improving or providing instruction in assisted reproduction procedures;

  • (c) for the purpose of creating a human being, create an embryo from a cell or part of a cell taken from an embryo or foetus or transplant an embryo so created into a human being;

  • (d) maintain an embryo outside the body of a female person after the fourteenth day of its development following fertilization or creation, excluding any time during which its development has been suspended;

  • (e) for the purpose of creating a human being, perform any procedure or provide, prescribe or administer any thing that would ensure or increase the probability that an embryo will be of a particular sex, or that would identify the sex of an in vitro embryo, except to prevent, diagnose or treat a sex-linked disorder or disease;

  • (f) alter the genome of a cell of a human being or in vitro embryo such that the alteration is capable of being transmitted to descendants;

  • (g) transplant a sperm, ovum, embryo or foetus of a non-human life form into a human being;

  • (h) for the purpose of creating a human being, make use of any human reproductive material or an in vitro embryo that is or was transplanted into a non-human life form;

  • (i) create a chimera, or transplant a chimera into either a human being or a non-human life form; or

  • (j) create a hybrid for the purpose of reproduction, or transplant a hybrid into either a human being or a non-human life form.

• Marginal note:Offers

  (2) No person shall offer to do, or advertise the doing of, anything prohibited by this section.

• Marginal note:Payment for prohibited act

  (3) No person shall pay or offer to pay consideration to any person for doing anything prohibited by this section.