The Parliamentary Health Committee’s legal Officer, Jackie Guma has supported the barring of Assisted Reproductive Technology Services (ARTs) or fertility services to single people.
According to Guma, the law would allow homosexuals to access the ARTs services in Uganda.
This follows a plea by the Uganda Law Reform Commission that applications for fertility treatment be made available to anyone desiring a child not just man and woman
Guma made the remarks on April 25, 2024 while attending a meeting with officials from Mulago Women’s and Neonatal Specialized Hospital.
The meeting was aimed at discussing the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill, 2023 which was tabled by Sarah Opendi seeking to regulate fertility clinics & use of Assisted Reproductive Technology services.
“We have received stakeholders who are of the view that we shouldn’t subject the application of this bill to only a man and a woman who jointly seek the services but rather also a single man and a single woman to access these services,” Guma said.
“I think if we were to do that, we would be opening this law to couples like homosexuals to have the ability to get ART services. I would like you to kindly guide us on that because it is an important composition of this bill,” Guma added.
She noted that the procedure involves removing eggs from a woman’s ovaries, combining them with sperm in the laboratory, and returning them to the woman’s body or donating them to another woman.
In March 2024, the former Minister of State for Health (General Duties), Sarah Opendi, introduced a private members’ Bill seeking to regulate the human assisted reproductive technology following the increase in the number of persons opting for the service in the country.