Switzerland Moves to Legalize Egg,Sperm Donations

 

The Swiss government said Thursday it aimed to overhaul its law on medically-assisted reproduction to legalise egg donations and give broader access to sperm donations.

 

Currently egg donations are not allowed and only married couples can access sperm donations.

 

The Swiss parliament has long said it wants to change that, and has asked the government with coming up with a proposal to provide broader access.

 

A government statement said it had “decided to completely revise the law on medically assisted reproduction in order to adapt it to the current context” and had asked the interior ministry to draft a proposed law by the end of next year.

The government said it wants to legalise egg donations in cases where a woman in a couple is infertile, as a parallel to the already legal use of sperm donations in cases of male sterility.

Bern said its priority was “the protection of donors and the welfare of the child”, stressing that “this protection cannot be guaranteed if parents resort to egg donation abroad”.

The government also said it wanted to expand access to both egg and sperm donation to unmarried couples.

After Switzerland legalised same-sex marriage in 2022, married lesbian couples have also had access to sperm donations.

But the government said the current law barring unmarried couples from access to such medically assisted reproduction was “outdated and no longer corresponds to social reality”.