THE SURROGACY BILL 2024: A STEP TOWARDS THE REGULATION OF ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Nigeria has since 2012 made efforts to regulate Assisted Reproductive Technology, though the need for a law to address the legal gap has long been identified by the Code of Medical Ethics, a subsidiary legislation issued pursuant to the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act in 2004. More than twenty years after the Code of Medical Ethics called for the enactment of ART laws in Nigeria, Nigeria is yet to enact a law on this subject. The Surrogacy Bill, 2024 symbolizes one of Nigeria’s most recent attempts to regulate surrogacy, a form of ART. The Bill scaled the second reading at the House of Representatives on 3 October 2024 and has since been referred to the House Committee on Healthcare Services. Since the presentation of the Bill to the House of Representatives, the sponsor of the Bill, Hon. Alao Akala has engaged with the public through different webinars discussing the Bill with key stakeholders, especially members of the legal profession, and the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Legal Practice (NBA-SLP). This article reviewed the Bill and highlighted its strengths and shortcomings and makes recommendations on how the Bill can be improved to ensure Nigeria effectively regulates ART through its own homegrown ART-focused law. The research adopts the doctrinal research methodology, which involves an in-depth examination and analysis of the Surrogacy Bill 2024, legal rules, principles, judicial decisions, and opinions. It concludes that a Nigerian law on this subject is desirable and emphasises that a law which comprehensively regulates ART in Nigeria is urgently required.