In most instances, the practice of assisted reproductive technologies comes before the legal regulations are enshrined, and Cambodia is no exception.
The country has its first IVF clinic, as well as several private and public fertility counselors, but no corresponding laws.
“There’s no national protocol or standard for infertility treatment,” said Dr Ping Chutema, director of clinical services at the Reproductive Health Association of Cambodia. “Clinics still have to follow a protocol, either an international and/or an internal framework.”
In the absence of national legislation, health professionals are challenged to implement self-regulation and coordinate amongst themselves to provide safe and effective care, Chutema said.
So far at the Fertility Clinic Cambodia, self-regulation has meant introducing the treatment to married heterosexual couples only, and not to single women or homosexual couples who would need sperm or egg donation.
In Vietnam, artificial insemination practices began in public hospitals in the late 1990s, but the Law on Childbirth By Scientific Methods wasn’t implemented until 2003. The regulations saw new restrictions placed on the industry, including a prohibition on treatment for women...