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The Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies reports

For many couples it's their worst nightmare. Years of trying and still, no baby. Adoption was once the only option. Nowadays there are fertility drugs, in vitro fertilization, and surrogate mothers. But with these modern-day solutions come new moral conundrums and questions: How far are we willing to go to fight infertility?

In November 1993, Canada's Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies issues its final report. Titled "Proceed with Care," the report is approximately 1300 pages long and contains 293 recommendations on such issues as the sale of human eggs and the licensing of in vitro fertilization clinics. On CBC-TV, Patricia Baird, the chair of the Commission, defends the recommendations and Gwynne Basen of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women offers her initial thoughts.

One of the Commission's most important recommendations is for the creation of a regulatory body called the National Reproductive Technology Commission. The NRTC would regulate sperm collection, storage and distribution; prenatal diagnosis for genetic diseases; and human embryo research, as well as issue licenses to in vitro fertilization clinics. Patricia Baird explains how the NRTC would work.
• The Commission concluded that "more than any other aspect of health-related technology or service, the research and application of reproductive technologies have significance beyond the individuals directly involved..."
• The Commission used a core set of values to evaluate new reproductive technologies. These values included individual autonomy, equality, protection of the vulnerable, respect for human life and dignity, non-commercialization of reproduction, and balancing individual and collective interests.

As a result of the commission's report, in July 1995, Health Minister Diane Marleau called for a voluntary moratorium on nine reproductive technologies and practices, including:
• sex selection;
• commercial surrogacy arrangements;
• buying and selling eggs, sperm and embryos; • "egg sharing," the donation of eggs in exchange for in vitro fertilization services;
• creating an artificial womb;
• creating animal-human hybrids; and
• retrieving eggs from cadavers and fetuses.

• In 1996, Bill C-47 was introduced to Parliament. It proposed banning 13 reproductive technologies based on the ones in 1995's voluntary moratorium.
• Bill C-47 died when a federal election was called and Parliament was dissolved in the spring of 1997.
• About 40,000 individuals and organizations advised the Royal Commission between 1989 and 1993.
Medium: Television
Program: Midday
Broadcast Date: Nov. 30, 1993
Guest(s): Patricia Baird, Gwynne Basen
Host: Kevin Newman
Reporter: Wendy Mesley
Duration: 12:41

Last updated: February 8, 2012

Page consulted on May 16, 2013

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