By Laudia Sawer, GNA
Tema, Oct. 20, GNA – Professor Titus Beyuo, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lambussie and member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health Subsidiary Legislation Committees, says the process of the passing of the Bill on Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) is very advanced.
Prof. Beyuo, who is also the former General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), said the ART bill was far advanced and hoped it would be passed into law during the current session of parliament.
Speaking at the annual general meeting and scientific conference of the Fertility Society of Ghana (FESGO), he revealed that the Minister of Health was currently working on two important legislative documents, the ART bill and the Bill on Organ Donation and Transplant Medicine.
“The ART bill is far advanced; FERSOG spent over three years working on that, resources were sunk into it, and people have the view that it was laid before parliament, but the eighth parliament never saw the bill, because it didn’t go past cabinet, but your work is very advanced,” he said.
He added that “I want to say on authority that I have the permission of the minister that he is very committed to passing this bill. For the ART bill, the steps left are a final round of stakeholder engagement, after which we are supposed to come out with a cabinet brief, then he will present it to the cabinet.”
He said after cabinet approval, it will be laid before parliament, where two committees; the legislative committee and the health committee, would then deal with it.
According to him, he is aware that it could sometimes be disheartening and discouraging, but the best time is now, therefore urging practitioners to keep pushing for its passage.
Prof. Beyuo stated that the minister had put together a committee tasked to see how they could get the two legal documents through.
“Let’s push, and we will have this here to help regulate our practice,” he added.
He stressed the need for the right legislative framework to protect the public, practitioners, investors, and all stakeholders.
Prof. Beyuo observed that the world had advanced and in Ghana, “our practice has gone ahead of legislation, and that is dangerous.”
He said people were now walking into the hospital to ask if they could preserve their eggs because they may be aging (35 to 40 years old) and no man had yet come to marry them.
Likewise young men were worried and inquiring about the truth in perceptions that sperm quality reduced with age and therefore wanted to preserve their sperms, but there was no law to address the issues, Prof. Beyuo stated.
GNA
Edited by Christabel Addo