Hong Kong Ordinances

HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY ORDINANCE - SECT 15

Prohibitions in connection with embryos, against sex selection and against the provision of reproductive technology procedures to unmarried persons

(1) No person shall-

   (a)  for the purposes of embryo research-

        (i)    bring about the creation of an embryo; or

        (ii)   combine human and non-human gametes or embryos or any part
               thereof such as to give rise to a 2 cell zygote;

   (b)  keep or use an embryo after the appearance of the primitive streak;

   (c)  place any non-human gametes or embryo or any part thereof in any
        human;

   (d)  place any human gametes or embryo or any part thereof in any animal;

   (e)  replace the nucleus of a cell of an embryo with a nucleus taken from
        any other cell; or

   (f)  clone any embryo.

(2) No person shall, for the purposes of a reproductive technology  procedure,
keep or use any fetal ovarian, or fetal testicular, tissue.

(3) No person shall, by means of a reproductive technology  procedure, cause
the sex of an embryo to be selected, whether directly or indirectly (including
by the implantation of an embryo of a particular sex in the body of a woman),
except where-

   (a)  the purpose of such selection is to avoid a sex-linked genetic disease
        specified in Schedule 2 which may prejudice the health of the embryo
        (including any foetus, child or adult which may arise from the
        embryo); and

   (b)  not less than 2 registered medical practitioners each state in writing
        that such selection is for that purpose and such disease would be
        sufficiently severe to a person suffering it to justify such
        selection.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), the primitive streak shall be taken
to have appeared in an embryo not later than the end of the period of 14 days
beginning with the day when the gametes are mixed, not counting any time
during which the embryo is stored.

(5) Subject to subsections (6), (7) and (8), no person shall provide a
reproductive technology procedure to persons who are not the parties to a
marriage.

(6) Without prejudice to the operation of section 14, subsection

(5) shall not apply in the case of a reproductive technology procedure
provided to a person who is to be a surrogate mother where the procedure is
provided pursuant to the surrogacy arrangement under which she is to be the
surrogate mother.

(7) It is hereby declared that-

   (a)  subject to paragraph (b), subsection (5) shall not operate to prohibit
        the continuation of a reproductive technology procedure provided to
        persons who were the parties to a marriage when gametes were, or an
        embryo was, placed in the body of a woman pursuant to the procedure;

   (b)  paragraph (a) shall not operate to permit any further gametes or
        further embryo to be placed in the body of that woman pursuant to that
        procedure.

(8) Subsection (5) shall not apply in the case of the reproductive 
technology procedure referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition of

"reproductive technology procedure" in section 2(1).