Problems with the regulation of assisted reproductive technology: a clinician's perspective

The use of the Infertility Treatment Act 1995 (Vic) as a model for regulating reproductive technologies throughout Australia poses many problems. This article argues that the legislation in Victoria is overly restrictive. In particular, banning embryo research is hypocritical. Embryo research was required to develop the clinical procedures and should be used to test innovations. Other problems are restricted access; privacy infringement; an intrusive regulatory body; conflicts with other laws; and confusion because of poor drafting or lack of foresight. Uniform statutes are unnecessary. The interests of individuals and the community are better served by regulation through the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee.     

Reviewing regulation of assisted reproductive technology in New South Wales: the Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2007 (NSW)

In November 2007, the Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2007 (NSW) was passed to deal with a number of issues under the spectrum of reproductive technologies. The legislation was the outcome of a review conducted by the New South Wales Health Department and adopts a different approach to other Australian statutory regulation. This article considers the approach of the new legislation and whether there are some issues that require further consideration under the new regulatory regime. In particular, discussion is focused on the failure of the new legislation to address eligibility for reproductive treatments as well as the use of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis for the creation of tissue-matched children.     

The regulation of nursing in Australia: a comparative analysis

This article uses the International Council of Nurses framework for nursing regulation to examine Nurses Acts in Australian States and Territories. It measures their compliance with the standards contained in the framework and exposes the anomalies among jurisdictions in spite of mutual recognition legislation now in force in all jurisdictions, including the Commonwealth. It also provides examples of difficulties encountered with cross-border practice and concludes that there is an urgent need for national nursing legislation.     

Human-centric data protection laws and policies: A lesson from Japan

This article examines the human dignity defined in Convention 108+ and, from a Japanese perspective, explores the possibility of a universal philosophy of data protection.The recent human resources scandal (the Rikunabi case) in Japan has made stakeholders to realise the importance of the basic philosophy of data protection. Convention 108+ declared ‘human dignity’ to prohibit an instrumental treatment of individuals in processing personal data, and thereby, in a positive sense, place the human in the centre of data processing cycle. Although there is no concept equivalent to ‘human dignity’ under the Japanese data protection laws, due to social norms in Japan, the human-centric approach is supported by recent Artificial Intelligence (AI) guidelines in Japan.The basic idea of the relationship between humans and machines is universal, even if the laws are local, in bridging the different legal regimes. The promise of Convention 108+ seems to take the processing of massive volumes of personal data, sorting out the individuals, and standardising the personality as its specific targets, and the defence of digital humanity as its noble ideal. In this sense, Convention 108+ has a universal value with its human dignity.     

Law of assisted reproductive surrogacy in Malaysia: a critical overview

Both traditional and gestational surrogacy are now entering the public mind as a major public policy issue, because of concern for apparent truncation of the surrogate mother’s rights. This article sets out to investigate some key relevant rights, the policy issues as yet unresolved, and the character of the current regulatory regime. Modern medicine, specifically assisted reproductive technology, has made legislation obsolete in many jurisdictions around the world, including in Malaysia. These new medical practices present many significant legal problems, with which the courts and legislators still struggle. A proposed statute, the Assisted Reproductive Technique Services Act, aimed at regulating reproductive technologies, including surrogacy arrangements, will be introduced in the Malaysian parliament soon. The proposed Malaysian Act will address issues such as surrogacy, sperm or egg banking, and sperm donation. Malaysia is moving cautiously towards regulation on this issue and is trying to avoid becoming a ‘rent-a-womb country’. Thus, this article asks the question as to what policy considerations are in place, in the current Malaysian regulatory regime, to care for the rights of the surrogate mother? It will try to show that there is still a danger that Malaysia could become a ‘rent-a-womb country’, with its necessary implications of property rights over surrogate mothers. The article employs section-by-section synthesis to reach its conclusions. Argument will suggest that the current state of the law in Malaysia, as to both traditional and gestational surrogacy, seems to be that the regulatory regime is a combination of the general law, private ordering, registration and enforceable professional ethics. However, there is no Malaysian statutory law in place, in the contemporary social context, expressly prohibiting a term in a surrogacy contract that might imply property rights over the surrogate mother. This is a serious apparent lacuna in the law, and might suggest that the laws of transnational crime be considered, as an alternative, as applicable to the surrogacy agreement.     

辅助生殖技术与亲子认定规则的变化简

人工辅助生殖技术的应用动摇了传统的亲子关系认定规则。本文主要介绍因人工辅助生殖技术而产生的亲子关系认定新规则和国外相关法律与司法实践。     

生殖系统损害及相关残疾标准的比较研究

生殖系统是人类繁衍后代,延续种族以及维持其性特征的重要器官.因此,生殖系统损害对个体造成的后果往往非常严重.2017年1月1日实施的《人体损伤致残程度分级》标准,其生殖系统损害的相关条款与既往标准存在较大差异.本文比较了《人体损伤致残程度分级》与国内外其他残疾标准中生殖系统损害的相关内容,探讨《人体损伤致残程度分级》标准的优点及不足,并提出了完善《人体损伤致残程度分级》标准相关内容的建议.