THE government is proposing to curb sperm banks that bypass existing laws by selling directly to women over the internet, writes Jonathon Carr-Brown.

Clinics and hospitals are subject to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act but at present websites can sell both semen and eggs without regulation.

Internet suppliers are frequently used by couples with fertility problems who wish to avoid IVF procedures. They are also favoured by single women and lesbian couples.

Under a government consultation on the future of the 1990 act, which will begin this week, options range from an outright ban to close regulation of the websites.

Caroline Flint, the public health minister, said: “The act was a landmark piece of legislation which has stood the test of time well. We never expected it would remain forever unchanged in the face of developments in science.”

The government argues that users of internet services do not have the same legal and medical protection as patients who go through regulated clinics.

Under the act, a sperm or egg donor is not regarded as the legal parent of the child conceived. However, a website donor could potentially demand a right of access to the child or a mother could demand child support money from her donor.

Companies behind websites say that if they are forced out of business in Britain, applicants may instead turn to far less reliable, foreign-based companies.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Wartime couple are reunited 68 years on
• 50 People of the Decade
• Book round-ups. Turkeys tarted up. I feel sick