Women Without Partners Will Be Able to Have Children: Law Under Discussion

From now on, the process will be more accessible for couples facing infertility and for women who do not have partners but wish to have children. This was announced today by Nune Pashayan, acting head of the Ministry of Health's Maternal and Child Health Department, during a press conference. Amendments are being proposed to the "Law on Human Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights." The law is still in the discussion phase.

The most important change, according to Pashayan, is that one of the couples seeking assisted reproductive technologies must be the biological parent of the child, meaning they must carry the genetic code. This provision is being removed because there are families in which neither the woman nor the husband has healthy reproductive cells. Thus, with the amendment to the law, interventions using donor sperm and eggs will be permitted.

Pashayan also noted that the amendments will impose age restrictions on women seeking assisted reproductive technologies (currently women up to 53 years old can apply for these services). She explained that this restriction is based on health risks posed to the woman; studies show that maternal and infant mortality rates are three times higher among older adults than among younger individuals.