The UK government has announced that it is committed to removing a law that prohibits people living with HIV from using IVF to become parents through surrogacy.
The decision was announced on Tuesday, October 24, by Minister Maria Caulfield, the Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy, during a parliamentary discussion on IVF provision.
The proposed legislation will mean that anyone receiving effective treatment for HIV who has an undetectable viral load will be permitted to donate eggs or sperm for surrogacy.
An undetectable viral load means that the HIV virus has been suppressed to a level where it can no longer be passed from person to person through bodily fluids such as blood or semen.
Under the new changes, it will no longer be illegal for couples (either same-sex or mixed-sex) living with HIV to use a surrogate. It also allows for a person to receive a gamete donation from a friend or relative living with HIV.
Minister Caulfield said the decision had been taken in consultation with the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues, and Organs and confirmed that “the Government will be introducing secondary legislation to allow the donation of gametes by people with HIV who have an undetectable viral load”. She added, “We will be introducing that as soon as we can.”
In a further welcomed announcement, Minister Caulfield confirmed that the new legislation will review the definitions of ‘partner’, which have led to discriminatory practices in accessing reproductive healthcare.
The UK Government commits to #EqualHIVFertilityRights!
“This change will transform the lives of some people living with #HIV who have until now been barred from the opportunity to become a parent through fertility treatments”, our CEO @deborahagold said.https://t.co/DwlNKjJTx9 pic.twitter.com/SmgOkqyCCy
— National AIDS Trust (@NAT_AIDS_Trust) October 24, 2023
In her statement, she said, “We will also be addressing the current discriminatory definitions of partner donation, which result in additional screening costs for female same-sex couples undergoing reciprocal IVF”.
She continued, “Again, amendments through statutory instruments will be introduced as soon as possible.”
The new amendments have been campaigned for by a number of organisations, but in particular by the National AIDS Trust, which gathered hundreds of signatures through an online campaign as well as lobbying MPs and marching in support.
Welcoming the announcement, Deborah Gold, CEO of the National AIDS Trust, issued a statement saying, “After years of campaigning on this issue, this morning we heard the Government finally commit in Parliament to change the discriminatory law that stops many LGBT people living with HIV from starting a family.”
She continued, “The Government’s decision follows the science and we now urge them to act swiftly on their commitment and table secondary legislation to remove these regulations from the statute book as soon as possible.
“This change will transform the lives of some people living with HIV who have until this point been barred from the opportunity to become a parent through fertility treatments.”
Currently, no date has been outlined on when the new legislation governing surrogacy and donation for people living with HIV is expected to be passed.
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