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A registered medical practitioner who implants a created human or animal embryo or any other embryo that is not a human embryo into a woman's uterus faces life in prison, if a new Bill is passed and signed into law.

An embryo is an unborn offspring in the process of development.

The proposed law (Bill) prohibits advertising for surrogacy, which is a process in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another person.

A person who is convicted of advertising for surrogacy will get a fine not exceeding shillings six million, a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years, or both.

These stringent penalties came to light when Sarah Opendi (District Woman Tororo, NRM) was allowed by Parliament to table her Private Member’s Bill titled: The Human-Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill 2023, on Tuesday.

The objective of the Bill is to regulate the use of human-assisted reproductive technology and designate the Medical and Dental Practitioners Council as the body responsible for the administration of the law.

It also seeks to provide for the designation of health units as fertility centres and the establishment of sperm, oocyte, and embryo banks within fertility centres.

The Bill provides for the rights of children born through human-assisted reproductive technology and provides for a register for information collected on human-assisted reproductive technology.

Opendi said there has been an increase in the number of people opting for human-assisted reproductive technology through various fertility solutions, including the use of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment and intrauterine insemination.

She noted that this increased demand has been necessitated by the growing cases of primary and secondary infertility and other health-related challenges among people seeking to have children.

She called for enacting the law to protect people seeking human-assisted reproductive technology services, providers of the services, and children born through human-assisted reproductive technology.

Opendi said many fertility clinics were mushrooming and there were no laws to regulate them.

“Many African countries that started having fertility clinics over 30 years ago do not have laws to regulate them. We have consulted on this. Uganda will be among the first countries in Africa to have laws regulating fertility clinics,” she added.

According to Opendi, one in every four couples in Uganda is affected by infertility. While 10 to 15 per cent of couples cannot have children due to infertility: "Biological advancements in surrogacy and fertility treatment have made it possible that any woman who desires to enjoy her God-given heritage of childbearing can do so notwithstanding malformation of the womb, recurrent pregnancy loss, or repeated IVF implantation failures".

In 2021, Michael Bukenya (Bukuya County, NRM) told Parliament that 50 per cent of men are experiencing challenges with infertility, adding that there is a need for treatment.

"There are more than 10 fertility treatment centres in the country that are private. The Government is yet to operationalise its unit, given that we provided money this financial year. There is regulation needed because this is a practice that involves third parties," Bukenya said.

Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa, who chaired the House, sent the Bill to Parliament’s committee on health.

Tayebwa asked that a report on the bill be produced within 45 days and returned to the House for debate.