Fertility Procedure Controls Pass Easily in State Senate

A bill requiring the written approval of donors before human eggs and other reproductive materials can be harvested and transferred to others sailed through the state Senate on Tuesday.

The legislation, approved on a 36-0 vote, was introduced by state Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-Burlingame) in response to the human egg-swapping scandal at UC Irvine, where three doctors have been accused by former patients of taking eggs and embryos without consent and implanting them in other patients.

Under the proposed legislation, physicians would face possible loss of their medical licenses for “unprofessional conduct” if they did not obtain consent.

The bill, which covers egg, embryo and sperm donation, must go to the Assembly for approval of Senate amendments.

A companion bill that would make it a felony to intentionally implant eggs or embryos without written consent, introduced by state Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica), is pending in the Assembly. It has already been passed by the Senate.

“These measures address the general lack of regulation in the field of fertility and help restore the confidence of many women and couples in California,” Speier said in a formal statement.

About 80 former patients have filed suit in the UCI scandal, which also involves allegations of financial wrongdoing, insurance fraud, use of an unauthorized fertility drug, and research misconduct.

The three physicians, Drs. Ricardo Asch, Jose P. Balmaceda and Sergio C. Stone, have denied intentional wrongdoing.