Abstract

KIE: The Australian Infertility (Medical Procedures) Act 1984 was proclaimed in 1986 in the state of Victoria, along with its monitoring body, the Standing Review and Advisory Committee. The legislation is based on the recommendations of the Waller Committee and is the first in the world to regulate in vitro fertilization and research on embryos. A research officer at Monash University's Centre for Human Bioethics examines the effects of this legislation on current research in Victoria involving the freezing of ova to be thawed and fertilized in vitro; microinjection of a single sperm into an ovum; embryo biopsy for detection of defects; and in vitro fertilization programs. Interpretation of the current legislation will dictate the future of experimentation on embryos, placing the responsibility for answering questions of pregnancy loss, embryo development, and differentiation with the Standing Review and Advisory Committee, not with researchers.