Posted by
cats
19 yrs ago
Does anyone know anything about the law banning IVF for unmarried couples in Hong Kong? I recently discovered that I would need to have this treatment in order to conceive but I am not married to my partner of 12 years. We do not want to get married because of some antiquated government law. What options do I have? I know that I can leave HK and have the treatment in another country but I prefer to have the treatment with my doctor that I have grown to trust over the last ten years.
Please help.
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Cap. 561: HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY ORDINANCE, Sec 15: Prohibitions in connection with embryos, against sex selection and against the provision of reproductive technology procedures to unmarried persons
The law is hardly antiquated as it includes provisions such as against cloning. It reflects HK's more conservative society. It was only a few years ago that homosexuality was illegal. Times and things change but perhaps unfortunately not soon enough for you. Your only option is to travel abroad.
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cats
19 yrs ago
Hello Claire,
Thank you for your advice. Please accept my humblest apologies if I have somehow offended you. I am in a 12 year heterosexual relationship and only want with the best of intentions to have and raise a child. I cannot express how painful it is to know you cannot naturally have children, then have someone explain that IVF is your only option and dash all of your hopes by telling you that this is not an option for you because the country that you love and have chosen as your home does not allow it. I think you said it best when you said that HK is conservative and referrred to homosexuality. Lets be honest this law has nothing to do with cloining it was enacted to stop unmarried "gay" couples from having children. The only reason the law does not read "procedures to unmarried gay couples" is to keep the rights activist from protesting. The HK government knows the law would never had been passed if it was presented in this way. No other civilized country bans this procedure for this reason. Furthermore, I believe that there are some pretty intelligent people in the HK government and if they were concerned with cloning they could find other ways to tackle the problem (do not fund the research to start with). Lets not forget that we ALL (conservative or not) live in the 21st century and that unfortunately good or bad the world has changed hence the reason for the word antiquated.
Apologies
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Perhaps my response was a tad terse, but you haven't offended me - it's not easy to do that. LOL
The law was also rushed through to stop the plethora of provide sex-choice (sorry can't think of the proper name) clinics which opened up here - perhaps at the behest of the mainland authorities. It covers commercial surrogacy which would provide another option for subfertile couples and cross-species fertilisation - although it doesn't mention politicans (!).
Till this government realises that to be good parents, people don't have to be married or different sexes, the law as a whole will remain.
Long-distance assisted reproduction won't be easy, but I wish you and your partner all the best for every success.
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cats
19 yrs ago
Thanks Jojo! Yes, I have spoken to my doctor and because I am not married to my partner he cannot perform the procedure. I have also done research on having the procedure done overseas. The cost is outrageous if you do not live in the country where the procedure is being performed. In addition, the amount of traveling and time outside of HK is just not possible for me or my partner. I was actually hoping that someone had challenged the law or knew what the law stated so I know what I am dealing with and what I need to do to get the procedure done. I have recently been informed that the lab actually asks for a marriage certificate before performing the procedure so you must be married before having IVF in HK.
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buz
19 yrs ago
Hi cats, I was in a similiar position! The day I arrived at the clinic for my egg retrieval the nurse asked for my wedding certificate. I had no idea at the time u had to be married. So just played dumb and said my married certificate was at my in laws in Oz. They kept calling me to fax them a copy but gave up after a while. My second IVF, again same clinic I played dumb and told them that they must have a copy from my first cycle! To be honest the whole thing stressed me out. IVF is a stressful enough without having the clinic keep calling for my wedding cert. For the 3rd cycle my new doc said that the law was reinforced in Nov 2006 and really I needed to get married. So this is what we had to do. I was really unhappy in being put in a position of having to! But had no option. Anyone would think we are living in the 50's! Good luck in whatever u decide.
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cats
19 yrs ago
Good morning Jojo,
Thanks for the support. Sounds like HK discourages any parent that cannot have children from having a baby. I hope all works out for you! I wish you and your partner the very best.
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cats
19 yrs ago
Hello Buz,
You cannot imagine how much better I feel after reading your comment. It is nice to know that someone else has the same feelings about having a marriage certificate that in most cases is not worth the paper it is written on. I have come around to the idea of marriage but I still feel robbed of some dignity in a way. Like you said it is hard enough to hear that you are infertile and that you have to have IVF. I will keep my fingers crossed in the hopes that you conceive on your next trial. Just out of curiosity did you have any side effects to the treatments you were given? And... What Dr. did you use for your IVF treatment.
Thanks again,
CATS
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cats> Any notion of being robbed of your dignity will vanish - and may even seem worth it - when you hold your little one in your arms for the first time.
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and as a silver lining - you can now also enjoy the benefits of the tax free threshold enjoyed by the marrieds! best of luck with the IVF. I sincerely hope it all works out for you both. Focus on that instead of some government's outdated policies!
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buz
19 yrs ago
Hi Cats
I'll send you a pm with all the details!
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cats
19 yrs ago
Thank Buz, I will await the details
Thanks again,
CATS
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