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Assisted Human Reproduction Act (S.C. 2004, c. 2)

Assented to 2004-03-29

Marginal note:Payment for surrogacy
  •  (1) No person shall pay consideration to a female person to be a surrogate mother, offer to pay such consideration or advertise that it will be paid.

  • Marginal note:Acting as intermediary

    (2) No person shall accept consideration for arranging for the services of a surrogate mother, offer to make such an arrangement for consideration or advertise the arranging of such services.

  • Marginal note:Payment to intermediaries

    (3) No person shall pay consideration to another person to arrange for the services of a surrogate mother, offer to pay such consideration or advertise the payment of it.

  • Marginal note:Surrogate mother — minimum age

    (4) No person shall counsel or induce a female person to become a surrogate mother, or perform any medical procedure to assist a female person to become a surrogate mother, knowing or having reason to believe that the female person is under 21 years of age.

  • Marginal note:Validity of agreement

    (5) This section does not affect the validity under provincial law of any agreement under which a person agrees to be a surrogate mother.

Marginal note:Purchase of gametes
  •  (1) No person shall purchase, offer to purchase or advertise for the purchase of sperm or ova from a donor or a person acting on behalf of a donor.

  • Marginal note:Purchase or sale of embryos

    (2) No person shall

    • (a) purchase, offer to purchase or advertise for the purchase of an in vitro embryo; or

    • (b) sell, offer for sale or advertise for sale an in vitro embryo.

  • Marginal note:Purchase of other reproductive material

    (3) No person shall purchase, offer to purchase or advertise for the purchase of a human cell or gene from a donor or a person acting on behalf of a donor, with the intention of using the gene or cell to create a human being or of making it available for that purpose.

  • Marginal note:Exchanges included

    (4) In this section, “purchase” or “sell” includes to acquire or dispose of in exchange for property or services.

Marginal note:Use of reproductive material without consent
  •  (1) No person shall make use of human reproductive material for the purpose of creating an embryo unless the donor of the material has given written consent, in accordance with the regulations, to its use for that purpose.

  • Marginal note:Posthumous use without consent

    (2) No person shall remove human reproductive material from a donor's body after the donor's death for the purpose of creating an embryo unless the donor of the material has given written consent, in accordance with the regulations, to its removal for that purpose.

  • Marginal note:Use of in vitro embryo without consent

    (3) No person shall make use of an in vitro embryo for any purpose unless the donor has given written consent, in accordance with the regulations, to its use for that purpose.

Marginal note:Gametes obtained from minor

 No person shall obtain any sperm or ovum from a donor under 18 years of age, or use any sperm or ovum so obtained, except for the purpose of preserving the sperm or ovum or for the purpose of creating a human being that the person reasonably believes will be raised by the donor.

CONTROLLED ACTIVITIES

Marginal note:Use of human reproductive material
  •  (1) No person shall, except in accordance with the regulations and a licence, alter, manipulate or treat any human reproductive material for the purpose of creating an embryo.

  • Marginal note:Use of in vitro embryo

    (2) No person shall, except in accordance with the regulations and a licence, alter, manipulate, treat or make any use of an in vitro embryo.

  • Marginal note:Keeping and handling gametes and embryos

    (3) No person shall, except in accordance with the regulations and a licence, obtain, store, transfer, destroy, import or export

    • (a) a sperm or ovum, or any part of one, for the purpose of creating an embryo; or

    • (b) an in vitro embryo, for any purpose.

Marginal note:Transgenics
  •  (1) No person shall, except in accordance with the regulations and a licence, combine any part or any proportion of the human genome specified in the regulations with any part of the genome of a species specified in the regulations.

  • Marginal note:Definitions

    (2) The following definitions apply in this section.

    “human genome”

    « génome humain »

    “human genome” means the totality of the deoxyribonucleic acid sequence of the human species.

    “species”

    « espèce »

    “species” means any taxonomic classification of non-human life.

Marginal note:Reimbursement of expenditures
  •  (1) No person shall, except in accordance with the regulations and a licence,

    • (a) reimburse a donor for an expenditure incurred in the course of donating sperm or an ovum;

    • (b) reimburse any person for an expenditure incurred in the maintenance or transport of an in vitro embryo; or

    • (c) reimburse a surrogate mother for an expenditure incurred by her in relation to her surrogacy.

  • Marginal note:Receipts

    (2) No person shall reimburse an expenditure referred to in subsection (1) unless a receipt is provided to that person for the expenditure.

  • Marginal note:No reimbursement

    (3) No person shall reimburse a surrogate mother for a loss of work-related income incurred during her pregnancy, unless

    • (a) a qualified medical practitioner certifies, in writing, that continuing to work may pose a risk to her health or that of the embryo or foetus; and

    • (b) the reimbursement is made in accordance with the regulations and a licence.

Marginal note:Use of premises

 No person who is licensed to undertake a controlled activity shall undertake it in any premises except in accordance with a licence permitting the use of the premises for that controlled activity.

PRIVACY AND ACCESS TO INFORMATION

Marginal note:Information to be collected by licensees
  •  (1) A licensee shall not accept the donation of human reproductive material or an in vitro embryo from any person for the purpose of a controlled activity, and shall not perform a controlled activity on any person, unless the licensee has obtained from that person the health reporting information required to be collected under the regulations.

  • Marginal note:Requirements of this Act to be conveyed

    (2) Before accepting a donation of human reproductive material or of an in vitro embryo from a person or accepting health reporting information respecting a person, a licensee shall

    • (a) inform the person in writing of the requirements of this Act respecting, as the case may be,

      • (i) the retention, use, provision to other persons and destruction of the human reproductive material or in vitro embryo, or

      • (ii) the retention, use, disclosure and destruction of the health reporting information;

    • (b) to the extent required by the regulations, make counselling services available to the person and ensure that the person receives them;

    • (c) obtain the written consent of the person to the application of the requirements referred to in paragraph (a); and

    • (d) in accordance with the regulations, provide the person with the information that the Agency makes available to the public under paragraph 19(i).

Marginal note:Disclosure of information restricted
  •  (1) No licensee shall disclose health reporting information for any purpose except

    • (a) with the written consent of the person to whom the information relates allowing its disclosure for that purpose; or

    • (b) in accordance with subsections (2) to (5).

  • Marginal note:Disclosure required

    (2) A licensee shall disclose health reporting information

    • (a) to the Agency, to the extent required by the regulations;

    • (b) to the extent required for the administration of a health care insurance plan within the meaning of the Canada Health Act;

    • (c) for the purpose of complying with a subpoena or warrant issued or order made by a court, body or person with jurisdiction to compel the production of information or for the purpose of complying with rules of court relating to the production of information; and

    • (d) to the extent required by the provisions of any federal or provincial law respecting health and safety that are specified in the regulations.

  • Marginal note:Transfers between licensees

    (3) A licensee that transfers human reproductive material or an in vitro embryo to another licensee shall disclose to the other licensee the health reporting information in its possession respecting the material or embryo, and respecting the person or persons to whom the material or embryo relates, but the identity of any person — or information that can reasonably be expected to be used in the identification of a person — shall not be disclosed except in the circumstances and to the extent provided by the regulations.

  • Marginal note:Agency to be notified

    (3.1) A licensee who transfers an in vitro embryo to another licensee shall notify the Agency of the transfer in accordance with the regulations.

  • Marginal note:Information to persons undergoing procedures

    (4) Before performing an assisted reproduction procedure that makes use of human reproductive material or an in vitro embryo, a licensee shall disclose to the person undergoing the procedure the health reporting information in its possession respecting the donor, but the identity of the donor — or information that can reasonably be expected to be used in the identification of the donor — shall not be disclosed without the donor's written consent.

  • Marginal note:Research and statistics

    (5) A licensee may disclose health reporting information to an individual or organization for scientific research or statistical purposes, other than the identity of any person — or information that can reasonably be expected to be used in the identification of any person.

 

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