Establishing Rules for IVF

• Author: Maureen McTeer
• Pages: 20-24

[  ]

– chapter two –

Establishing Rules for IVF

THE VOLUNTARY LICENSING AUTHORITY

So how did the Parliament at Westminster respond to the recommenda-

tions of the Warnock Report? Initially, only a law banning commercial

surrogacy was passed, while the other recommendations remained in

limbo. Yet the initial challenges presented by IVF and related practi-

ces remained, and the demand for this reproductive technology grew.

Women, who sought IVF and related reproductive techniques in order

to achieve a pregnancy and have a child, remained in need of protection,

while the physicians and the clinics in which they practised all needed

guidance, training, rules — and eventually, legal frameworks — by which

to operate.

In response to this legislative and regulatory vacuum, the British

Medical Research Council and the Royal College of Obstetricians and

Gynaecologists moved to establish a voluntary regulatory body to oversee

the activities of their members practising in the area of assisted human

reproduction. Together, they crafted an Interim Licensing Authority (ILA)

with regulations which, while voluntary, began to set standards and estab-

lish procedures for the training and discipline of those members oering

IVF and related reproductive interventions. e signicance of this action

cannot be overstated, for the policies and procedures they developed went

on to serve as the foundation for future legislation and regulations relating