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{
    "id": 491665,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/491665/?format=api",
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    "content": "man and then it is fertilized through the IVF which is defined in the Bill that I shall amend accordingly. Then these people are able to get their children. Madam Temporary Speaker, Sir, the reason I felt that it was important to bring this legislation to touch on surrogacy and all the assisted reproductive technologies is because I have seen couples suffer. I have seen the pain in the eyes of family members, those who cannot afford the services of medical officers to get the IVF. The cost of these facilities is exorbitantly high. The Government taxes clinics so that it costs not less than Kshs500,000. It is not guaranteed that if you try you will get a child in the first instance. You find that the elite women leave this country to India, South Africa, Germany or London to go and get the reproductive technology healthcare services. We have doctors who are fully qualified and are ready to provide these services. They just need facilitation and legislation that controls and protects all. We have seen couples who, after they have tried all this, stay for so long without succeeding. There is one case which I handled as a lawyer. This was on gestational surrogacy. This was for American citizens who came to the country, engaged medical services and they were lucky because they knew the medical doctors in Kenya are the best. They succeeded the very first time they did this. I am saying this because I have sought for their permission to talk about it. They were expecting one child but they got three. It was hell getting citizenship for these Americans born in Kenya. It involved a lot of pain and suffering. This also involved the intervention of a Senator from their country. Special kits for DNA from America were brought to Kenya and tests were done locally. This further involved the FBI coming to my office to inquire whether this was a case of child trafficking. They asked me: “Did you really go through these services?” They said: “There is no law in Kenya, we have to be careful”. They went to the clinic and this even involved breaking the confidentiality of the clients. I tried to reason with everybody. The law does not say it is prohibited, which means it is not illegal or criminal. But they said that silence does not expressly say that it is permitted. They said: “For us to be comfortable, give us the law.” I have walked around in these clinics and I have seen similar situations where couples suffer. By the time these children were leaving Kenya, they were one year old. In one year, they were put through a lot of expenses and unnecessary inconveniences. As you can see, recently even in the decided constitutional case, Petition No.782014, Justice Majanja ruled that it is high time that Kenya had laws on surrogacy, amongst others. You find that there is a major difficulty in proving who the mother of children born from gestational surrogacy or assisted reproductive technology healthcare services is. There are contracts. Believe me; before you carry a baby in your hands, after going through these particular steps, you have been through hell. The medical procedures are very thorough. This is where we say that medicine is ahead of law; as a lawyer I do not like that. That is why I am standing before you and all Kenyans to ask you to give us the law, control it, evaluate it, and monitor it. Implement it and then deal with the strengths and weaknesses. Couples must go through thorough medical check-up to ensure that they are medically fit. They should not be suffering from diseases that can harm a child. At the end of the day, the best interests of a child should be at the heart of the law. Nobody wants to give birth to a child or bring into this world a child who is unwell or suffering The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}