People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has told the Dáil he and his partner have been going through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment for the last year and spoke of the "huge stress" it places on couples.
The Dublin South-West TD said he and his partner had spent about €12,000 to date on the treatment and that “we could end up spending more money and it may or may not work at the end of it”.
Mr Murphy was speaking as the Dáil debated legislation that would formally allow certain forms of surrogacy to take place in the State.
The Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill, 2022, would regulate all forms of assisted human reproduction here, including commonly used procedures such as IVF, as well as surrogacy and newer technologies such as embryo screening.
It is five years since drafting of the legislation began and more than 15 years since the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction called for new laws to govern practice in the area.
The Bill passed through the second stage of the Dáil on Wednesday evening and now moves to committee stage.
Mr Murphy said he welcomed the Bill and the establishment of a regulatory authority in this area as "a very late and small step towards tackling the reality of Ireland as being in the wild west when it comes to fertility care".
He said, however, the legislation didn’t do anything in terms of the public provision of fertility care, in particular IVF.
Mr Murphy said lots of people simply could not afford IVF and there was “unequal access” in someone’s chances to have a baby due to wealth, something which was “absolutely morally wrong”.
He said one in six couples experienced fertility issues and noted the “huge burden” IVF had placed on his own partner.
Support thousands
Minister of State at the Department of Health Anne Rabbitte told the Dáil that assisted human reproduction (AHR) was a "complex, innovative and fast-moving area of medicine" and the legislation would support thousands of people who wished to have children to do so safely.
“It will clarify the legal position of children born in Ireland as a result of AHR and will provide an ethical framework for research on new reproductive technologies,” she said.
“Ireland is currently very much an outlier internationally. The State is not funding advanced AHR treatment and we do not have a specific regulatory framework in place in respect of this area of healthcare.
“This means that individuals are availing of complex and sometimes risky procedures in what is effectively a legal vacuum. The new rules, regulations and provisions under this legislation will help bring guidance, clarity and peace of mind.”
Ms Rabbitte set out the circumstances under which surrogacy may be permitted in the Republic, including that the surrogacy agreement is gestational only, ie that the surrogate’s egg is not used.
Any child born as a result of surrogacy in the State is to have a genetic link to at least one intending parent, while the surrogate mother and at least one intending parent must have been habitually resident in the State for no less than two years.
The relevant embryo transfer is to be undertaken in the State and the child needs to be born in Ireland. The surrogacy arrangements are to be non-commercial and the surrogacy agreement must be approved by the regulatory body in advance of the provision of the relevant AHR treatment.
The woman who is going to act as a surrogate mother must be 25 years old or older, must have previously given birth to a child and must not act as a surrogate under a surrogacy agreement more than twice.
Current law
Ms Rabbitte said that under Irish law currently, the surrogate is considered to be the mother of the child born through surrogacy. The legislation provides for a mechanism through which the parental rights and responsibilities will be transferred from the surrogate to the intending parent or parents through the granting of a parental order application to the Circuit Court.
Provision is also made to establish a national surrogacy register that will hold information on all parties involved in a surrogacy agreement.
Ms Rabbitte said the focus of the legislation had always been on the regulation of a wide range of practices undertaken “in this jurisdiction exclusively”, and particularly those by private fertility clinics operating in Ireland.
“Therefore, the published Bill does not include provisions to regulate surrogacy arrangements undertaken in other jurisdictions,” she said.
