MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2013 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representative Arnold
AN ACT TO CREATE NEW SECTIONS 93-18-1, 93-18-3, 93-18-5, 93-18-7 AND 93-18-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CREATE THE "IVF PARENTAL PROTECTION AND ADOPTION AND ETHICAL TREATMENT OF HUMAN EMBRYOS ACT"; TO DEFINE TERMS USED IN THIS ACT; TO PROVIDE FOR THE LEGAL ADOPTION OF HUMAN EMBRYOS AND PRESCRIBE THE RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES OF ENTITLEMENT TO THE RECIPIENT; TO PROVIDE FOR THE RELINQUISHING OF RIGHTS TO SUCH EMBRYO BY THE CUSTODIAN THEREOF; TO AUTHORIZE THE RECIPIENT PARENT OF THE EMBRYO TO EXPEDITE THE ADOPTION OF A CHILD BEFORE OR FOLLOWING THE BIRTH OF THE CHILD; TO PROVIDE FOR THE LEGAL PROCEDURE TO BE FOLLOWED IN PETITIONING THE COURT FOR ADOPTION; TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF EMBRYOS TO BE IMPLANTED AT THE TIME OF TRANSFER; TO CREATE NEW SECTIONS 93-30-1, 93-30-3, 93-30-5, 93-30-7, 93-30-9, 93-30-11, 93-30-13, 93-30-15, 93-30-17, 93-30-19, 93-30-21 AND 93-30-23, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, to provide that it shall be unlawful for any person or entity to intentionally or knowingly create or attempt to create an in vitro human embryo by any means other than fertilization of a human egg by a human sperm; to provide that it shall be unlawful For any person or entity to intentionally or knowingly create or attempt to create a human-animal hybrid, to transfer a human embryo into a nonhuman womb, and to transfer a nonhuman embryo into a human womb; to provide for standards for physicians and facilities performing in vitro fertilizations; TO PRESCRIBE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THESE SECTIONS; to provide for judicial standards; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 93-18-1, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-18-1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "IVF Parental Protection and Adoption and Ethical Treatment of Human Embryos Act."
SECTION 2. The following shall be codified as Section 93-18-3, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-18-3. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed in this section, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Embryo" or "human embryo" means an individual fertilized ovum of the human species from the single-cell stage to eight-week development.
(b) "Embryo relinquishment" or "legal transfer of rights to an embryo" means the relinquishment of rights and responsibilities by the person or persons who hold the legal rights and responsibilities for an embryo and the acceptance of such rights and responsibilities by a recipient intended parent.
(c) "Embryo transfer" means the medical procedure of physically placing an embryo into the uterus of a female.
(d) "Legal embryo custodian" means the person or persons who hold the legal rights and responsibilities for a human embryo and who relinquishes said embryo to another person or persons.
(e) "Recipient intended parent" means a person or persons who receive a relinquished embryo and who accepts full legal rights and responsibilities for such embryo and any child that may be born as a result of embryo transfer.
SECTION 3. The following shall be codified as Section 93-18-5, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-18-5. (1) A legal embryo custodian may relinquish all rights and responsibilities for an embryo to a recipient intended parent before embryo transfer. A written contract shall be entered into between each legal embryo custodian and each recipient intended parent before embryo transfer for the legal transfer of rights to an embryo. The contract shall be signed by each legal embryo custodian for such embryo and by each recipient intended parent in the presence of a notary public and a witness. Initials or other designations may be used if the parties desire anonymity. The contract may include a written waiver by the legal embryo custodian of notice and service in any legal adoption or other parentage proceeding which may follow.
(2) If the embryo was created using donor gametes, the sperm or oocyte donors who irrevocably relinquished their rights in connection with in vitro fertilization shall not be entitled to any notice of the embryo relinquishment, nor shall their consent to the embryo relinquishment be required.
(3) Upon embryo relinquishment by each legal embryo custodian under subsection (1) of this section, the legal transfer of rights to an embryo shall be considered complete, and the embryo transfer shall be authorized.
(4) An unborn child, and a child born to a recipient intended parent as the result of embryo relinquishment under subsection (1) of this section shall be presumed to be the legal child of the recipient intended parent; provided that each legal embryo custodian and each recipient intended parent has entered into a written contract.
SECTION 4. The following shall be codified as Section 93-18-7, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-18-7. (1) Before the birth of a child or following the birth of a child, a recipient intended parent may petition the superior court for an expedited order of adoption or parentage. In such cases, the written contract between each legal embryo custodian and each recipient intended parent shall be acceptable in lieu of a surrender of rights.
(2) All petitions under this chapter shall be filed in the county in which any petitioner or any respondent resides.
(3) The court shall give effect to any written waiver of notice and service in the legal proceeding for adoption or parentage.
(4) In the interest of justice, to promote the stability of embryo transfers and to promote the interests of unborn children and children who may be born following such embryo transfers, the court in its discretion may waive such technical requirements as the court deems just and proper.
SECTION 5. The following shall be codified as Section 93-18-9, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-18-9. Upon a filing of a petition for adoption or parentage and the court finding that such petition meets the criteria required by this chapter, an expedited order of adoption or parentage shall be issued and shall be a final order. Such order shall terminate any future parental rights and responsibilities of any past or present legal embryo custodian or gamete donor in a child which results from the embryo transfer and shall vest such rights and responsibilities in the recipient intended parent.
SECTION 6. The following shall be codified as Section 93-30-1, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-30-1. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed in this section, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Donor" means an individual from whose body gametes were obtained, or an individual from whose body cells or tissues were obtained for the purpose of creating gametes or human embryos, whether for valuable consideration or not.
(b) "Gamete" means an egg (oocyte) or sperm.
(c) "Human embryo" means an organism with a human or predominantly human genetic constitution from the single-celled stage to approximately eight weeks development that is derived by fertilization (in vitro or in utero), parthenogenesis, cloning (somatic cell nuclear transfer), or any other means from one or more human gametes or human diploid cells.
(d) "In vitro" means outside the human body.
(e) "In vitro fertilization" means the formation of a human embryo outside the human body by union of human eggs with human sperm.
(f) "In vitro human embryo" means a human embryo created outside the human body.
(g) "Transfer" means the placement of a human embryo into the body of a woman.
(h) "Valuable consideration" means financial gain or advantage, including cash, in-kind payments, reimbursement for any costs incurred in connection with the removal, processing, disposal, preservation, quality control, storage, transfer or donation of human gametes, including lost wages of the donor, as well as any other consideration.
(i) "Human animal hybrid" means any of the following:
(i) A human embryo into which a nonhuman cell or a component of a nonhuman cell is introduced so that it is uncertain whether the human embryo is a member of the species homo sapiens;
(ii) A hybrid human-animal embryo produced by fertilizing a human egg with a nonhuman sperm;
(iii) A hybrid human-animal embryo produced by fertilizing a nonhuman egg with a human sperm;
(iv) An embryo produced by introducing a nonhuman nucleus into a human egg;
(v) An embryo produced by introducing a human nucleus into a nonhuman egg;
(vi) An embryo containing at least haploid sets of chromosomes from both a human and a nonhuman life form;
(vii) A nonhuman life form engineered with the intention of generating functional human gametes within the body of a nonhuman life form;
(viii) A nonhuman life form engineered such that it contains a human brain or a brain derived wholly from human neural tissues.
SECTION 7. The following shall be codified as Section 93-30-3, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-30-3. (1) It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to intentionally or knowingly create or attempt to create an in vitro human embryo by any means other than fertilization of a human egg by a human sperm.
(2) The creation of an in vitro human embryo shall be solely for the purpose of initiating a human pregnancy by means of transfer to the uterus of a human female for the treatment of human infertility. A pregnancy shall not be initiated with the intention of deliberately destroying the embryo for scientific research. Neither shall the embryo be gestated to the fetal stage for purposes of destroying the fetus in order to harvest tissue stem cells for research. No person or entity shall intentionally or knowingly transfer or attempt to transfer an embryo into a human uterus that is not the product of fertilization of a human egg by a human sperm.
(3) It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to intentionally or knowingly:
(a) Create or attempt to create a human-animal hybrid;
(b) Transfer or attempt to transfer a human embryo into a nonhuman womb;
(c) Transfer or attempt to transfer a nonhuman embryo into a human womb;
(d) Transport or receive for any purpose a human-animal hybrid or any product derived from such hybrid.
(4) Nothing in this section prohibits any of the following:
(a) Research involving the use of transgenic animal models containing human genes;
(b) Xenotransplantation of human organs, tissues or cells into recipient animals, including animals at any stage of development prior to birth, so long as the xenotransplantation does not violate a prohibition in subsection (3) of this section;
(c) An individual from receiving organs, tissues, or cells delivered from outside of this state.
SECTION 8. The following shall be codified as Section 93-30-5, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-30-5. No person or entity shall give or receive valuable consideration, offer to give or receive valuable consideration, or advertise for the giving or receiving of valuable consideration for the provision of gametes or in vitro human embryos. This section shall not apply to regulate or prohibit the procurement of gametes for the treatment of infertility being experienced by the patient from whom the gametes are being derived.
SECTION 9. The following shall be codified as Section 93-30-7, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-30-7. The in vitro human embryo shall be given an identification by the facility for use within the medical facility. Records shall be maintained that identify the donors associated with the in vitro human embryo, and the confidentiality of such records shall be maintained as required by law.
SECTION 10. The following shall be codified as Section 93-30-9, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-30-9. (1) A living in vitro human embryo is a biological human being who is not the property of any person or entity. The fertility physician and the medical facility that employs the physician owe a high duty of care to the living in vitro human embryo. Any contractual provision identifying the living in vitro embryo as the property of any party shall be null and void. The in vitro human embryo shall not be intentionally destroyed for any purpose by any person or entity or through the actions of such person or entity.
(2) An in vitro human embryo that fails to show any sign of life over a thirty-six-hour period outside a state of cryopreservation shall be considered no longer living.
SECTION 11. The following shall be codified as Section 93-30-11, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-30-11. Only medical facilities meeting the standards of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists shall cause the fertilization of an in vitro human embryo. A person who engages in the creation of in vitro human embryos shall be qualified as a medical doctor licensed to practice medicine in this state and shall possess specialized training and skill in artificial reproductive technology in conformity with the standards established by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine or the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
SECTION 12. The following shall be codified as Section 93-30-13, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-30-13. In the interest of reducing the risk of complications for both the mother and the transferred in vitro human embryos, including the risk of preterm birth associated with higher-order multiple gestations, a person or entity performing in vitro fertilization shall limit the number of in vitro human embryos created in a single cycle to the number to be transferred in that cycle in accord with Section 93-30-15.
SECTION 13. The following shall be codified as Section 93-30-15, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-30-15. (1) Where a woman under age forty (40) years is to receive treatment using her own eggs or embryos created using her own eggs, whether fresh or previously cryopreserved, at the time of transfer no person or entity shall transfer more than two (2) embryos in any treatment cycle, regardless of the procedure used.
(2) Where a woman age forty (40) years or over is to receive treatment using her own eggs or embryos created using her own eggs, whether fresh or previously cryopreserved, at the time of transfer no person or entity shall transfer more than three (3) embryos in any treatment cycle, regardless of the procedure used.
(3) Where a woman is to receive treatment using donated eggs or adopted embryos, no person or entity shall transfer more than two (2) donated eggs or two (2) adopted embryos in any treatment cycle, regardless of the woman's age at the time of transfer and regardless of the procedure used.
SECTION 14. The following shall be codified as Section 93-30-17, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-30-17. In disputes arising between any parties regarding the in vitro human embryo, the judicial standard for resolving such disputes shall be the best interest of the in vitro human embryo.
SECTION 15. The following shall be codified as Section 93-30-19, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-30-19. All facilities providing assisted reproductive technologies shall, at least twenty-four (24) hours before obtaining a signed contract for services, provide patients with informed consent as required by law and obtain a signed disclosure form before services commence. In addition to medical risks and information on outcome and success rates, the informed consent materials shall state in plain language the parental rights and duties of the donors, as well as their legal rights and duties regarding the disposition of in vitro human embryos that were not transferred due to either of the fertility patient's death, divorce, abandonment, or dispute over the custody of the in vitro human embryo.
SECTION 16. The following shall be codified as Section 93-30-21, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-30-21. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to create or recognize any independent right to engage in the practice of in vitro fertilization or to create in vitro human embryos by any means.
SECTION 17. The following shall be codified as Section 93-30-23, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-30-23. (1) Any person or entity that violates any provision of this chapter and derives a pecuniary gain from such violation shall be fined not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00).
(2) Any violation of this chapter shall constitute unprofessional conduct as prescribed under Section 73-25-29 and shall result in sanctions increasing in severity from censure to temporary suspension of license to permanent revocation of license.
(3) Any violation of this chapter may be the basis for denying an application for, denying an application for the renewal of, or revoking any license, permit, certificate, or any other form of permission required to practice or engage in a trade, occupation, or profession.
(4) Any violation of this chapter by an individual in the employ and under the auspices of a licensed health care facility to which the management of said facility consents, knows, or should know may be the basis for denying an application for, denying an application for the renewal of, temporarily suspending, or permanently revoking any operational license, permit, certificate or any other form of permission required to operate a medical or health care facility.
SECTION 18. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2013.