The Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday passed the outline of a bill regulating assisted reproductive technology (ART) services in the city.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U introduced the bill during a plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle.
The bill will be passed to a standing committee for article-by-article review, after which it will be resubmitted to another plenary session for its second and final debate and article-by-article vote.
Ao Ieong noted that Macao currently does not have a specific law regulating ART services, so the bill was needed with the aim of allowing childless couples to use ART services subject to strict rules. In addition, the bill also covers regulated ART services for the treatment of serious hereditary diseases.
Ao Ieong underlined that the bill proposes that assisted reproductive technology adopted in Macao will only be a supplementary method of procreation, rather than an alternative method of procreation.
Ao Ieong pointed out that mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore all have their own specific legislation to regulate ART, The Macau Post Daily reported.
