Thaindian News

Dubai, June 18 (IANS) United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has turned down a draft national law on in-vitro fertilization (IVF) expressing concern over a clause he found discriminatory. Sheikh Khalifa condemned as discriminatory a clause in the draft law, which called for the appointment of at least one Muslim IVF specialist among the staff of every IVF centre across the country, the Gulf News reported.

“The clause not only contradicts international conventions which prohibits all forms of discrimination but also contravenes Article 25 of the UAE Constitution which states that all persons are equal before the law, without distinction between citizens of the union in regard to race, nationality, religious belief or social status,” the report quoted the president as saying in a statement to the Federal National Council (FNC).

Under IVF, egg cells are fertilized with sperm outside the woman’s womb.

The process involves hormonally controlling the ovulatory process, removing ova or eggs from the woman’s ovaries and letting sperm fertilize them in a fluid medium.

The fertilized egg is then transferred to the patient’s uterus with the intent to establish a successful pregnancy.

In his statement to the FNC, Sheikh Khalifa also said that matters pertaining to the appointment of medical, technical and administrative staff of the IVF centres should be addressed by the executive statute of the law.

Submitting to the president’s views, the FNC has decided to add a new article to the draft law to implement a supervisory committee that would ensure that all IVF centres worked in accordance with Islamic rules, teachings and ethics, the report added.