13 departments in Inner Mongolia issued a document: Strictly crack down on illegal and criminal activities such as buying and selling sperm and eggs, surrogacy, etc. | Apply | Carry out | Strengthen | Related | Departments | Human | Assisted Reproductive Technology

Notice on Issuing the Implementation Plan for the Special Campaign to Strictly Combat the Illegal Application of Human Assisted Reproductive Technology

The Health Commission, Party Committee Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Party Committee Cyberspace and Information Office, Intermediate People's Court, People's Procuratorate, Education Bureau, Public Security Bureau, Civil Affairs Bureau, Market Supervision Bureau, Women's Federation, and Military Health Department of each league and city:

In order to effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the people and normal reproductive order, ensure the physical health and safety of the people, and severely crack down on illegal and irregular use of human assisted reproductive technology, in accordance with the requirements of the "Work Plan for Carrying out Special Activities to Crack down on Illegal Use of Human Assisted Reproduction Technology" by 14 departments including the National Health Commission, the Autonomous Region Health Commission and 13 other departments jointly formulated the "Implementation Plan for Carrying out Special Activities to Crack Down on Illegal Use of Human Assisted Reproduction Technology in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region". It is now issued to you, please organize and implement it carefully.

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Health Commission

Political and Legal Affairs Committee of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Committee of the Communist Party of China

Office of the Cybersecurity and Information Technology Committee of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Committee of the Communist Party of China

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Higher People's Court

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People's Procuratorate

Education Department of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Communication Management Bureau

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Public Security Department

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Department of Civil Affairs

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Market Supervision Administration

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Drug Administration

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Women's Federation

Inner Mongolia Military Region Support Bureau of the People's Liberation Army of China

July 30, 2023

CC: Autonomous Region Health Comprehensive Supervision and Guarantee Center, various higher education institutions.

Implementation Plan for the Special Campaign of Severe Crackdown on the Illegal Application of Human Assisted Reproductive Technology in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

In order to standardize the application of human assisted reproductive technology in our district, strictly crack down on illegal and criminal activities such as buying and selling sperm, eggs, surrogacy, forging and selling birth medical certificates, effectively safeguard the physical health and life safety of the people, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of women and children, this implementation plan is hereby formulated.

1、 Fully recognize the importance of cracking down on the illegal application of human assisted reproductive technology

According to the Management Measures for Human Assisted Reproductive Technology, the sale of gametes, zygotes, and embryos in any form is prohibited. The illegal use of human assisted reproductive technology, such as surrogacy and illegal egg collection, seriously damages women's health rights, tramples on women's dignity, and causes negative effects of objectifying women. The illegal use of human assisted reproductive technology and the issuance of false birth medical certificates have led to serious violations of women and children's rights, such as intentional injury, illegal detention, and trafficking, seriously affecting social order and security stability. All relevant units should conscientiously implement the decisions and deployments of the state and autonomous regions, adhere to the principle of putting people first and life first, fully understand the importance and urgency of cracking down on the illegal application of human assisted reproductive technology, implement various work measures, and effectively ensure the safety and health of the people's lives.

2、 Strengthen the full chain management related to the application of human assisted reproductive technology

Strengthen the management of human assisted reproductive technology. Establish and improve access and exit mechanisms, strictly regulate the approval and verification management of human assisted reproductive technology, and increase administrative penalties for medical institutions and medical personnel engaging in human assisted reproductive technology violations. Implement the main responsibility of medical institutions, strengthen responsibility awareness, strengthen technical and personnel management, and strictly prohibit assisted reproductive technology practitioners from providing assisted reproductive technology services in institutions without qualifications or corresponding technical categories. Internet hospitals are strictly prohibited from issuing prescriptions of commonly used drugs for assisted reproduction listed in the prohibition list of online drug sales.

Strict patient identification management. Medical institutions that have been approved to carry out human assisted reproductive technology should implement a patient identification system, further strengthen identification management, and equip necessary identification hardware facilities, including at least ID card readers, biometric systems, etc., to verify identity information in key stages such as patient sperm retrieval, egg retrieval, and embryo transfer.

Strictly regulate the business operations of enterprises. Applicants who intend to engage in business activities related to human assisted reproductive technology should truthfully use the "medical services" entry to register their business scope during the registration process of their business license. Before obtaining the license for human assisted reproductive technology from the health administrative department, no one shall engage in human assisted reproductive technology activities. The relevant administrative regulatory authorities will focus on investigating companies registered in areas such as medical services, health consulting, and maternal and child health care, and will dispose of any illegal commercial marketing and publicity activities discovered in accordance with the law.

Strengthen the management of drugs and medical devices. Strengthen the quality supervision of commonly used drugs and medical devices for assisted reproduction, severely crack down on unlicensed production and operation of drugs and medical devices, strictly investigate illegal purchase and sales of drugs and medical devices through forging qualification certificates, renting and lending licenses, and urge enterprises to keep good production and sales records, and strictly investigate and punish illegal and irregular behaviors. Common drugs include clomiphene citrate, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists or antagonists, follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin, progesterone, and estrogen. Common assisted reproductive instruments include embryo transfer tubes, assisted reproductive puncture needles, and culture media for various stages of in vitro fertilization.

Establish a sound complaint and reporting mechanism. We will strengthen the supervision of Internet services related to human assisted reproductive technology and birth medical certificates. Investigate and deal with illegal Internet websites that use the Internet to publish information and advertisements related to surrogacy, illegal egg trading, etc. The Autonomous Region Health Commission has established a complaint and reporting hotline. Various regions should publish complaint and reporting hotline numbers to the society, and carefully investigate and verify the case clues reported by the public.

Strictly crack down on illegal activities. Various regions should strictly crack down on illegal and irregular use of human assisted reproductive technology in accordance with the law. For medical institutions and medical personnel who have engaged in illegal and irregular behavior, the relevant responsible persons and directly responsible personnel of the medical institutions should be held legally responsible, their qualifications for assisted reproductive technology should be revoked. Depending on the severity of the situation, medical personnel should be ordered to suspend their practice activities until their practice certificates are revoked; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be pursued in accordance with the law. Strictly crack down on illegal activities of non medical institutions and non medical personnel. If the circumstances are serious and constitute a crime, they shall be transferred to the public security organs for criminal responsibility in accordance with the law. For illegal acts of issuing false birth medical certificates or buying and selling birth medical certificates, if the circumstances are serious and constitute a crime, the relevant cases shall be transferred to the public security organs and criminal responsibility shall be pursued in accordance with the law. Strictly crack down on illegal collection of human genetic resources in China, illegal transportation, mailing, and carrying of human genetic resource materials out of the country caused by the illegal application of human assisted reproductive technology. For criminal acts that endanger public health or social public interests and seriously endanger the security of national human genetic resources, criminal responsibility shall be pursued in accordance with the law.

3、 Establish a sound working mechanism for division of labor and cooperation

Each department shall carry out daily supervision work according to their respective responsibilities, strengthen departmental linkage, enhance collaborative cooperation, improve the mechanism for discovering and handling clues, improve information communication and sharing, strictly supervise law enforcement, and carry out joint supervision and supervision of key cases.

The health administrative department and the competent department of traditional Chinese medicine are responsible for leading the coordination of actions among member units, organizing health administrative departments at all levels to supervise and verify the provision of human assisted reproductive technology services by various medical institutions at all levels, and investigating and punishing medical institutions and medical staff who engage in illegal and irregular provision of human assisted reproductive technology, sperm collection, egg collection, and surrogacy related services. Strengthen industry supervision and promote self-discipline in the behavior of medical institutions and medical staff. We will severely crack down on various illegal behaviors discovered during special operations. If the circumstances are serious and constitute a crime, we will transfer them to the public security organs for criminal responsibility in accordance with the law.

The political and legal departments fully leverage the advantages of comprehensive governance to form a joint effort to crack down on illegal and irregular activities in the application of human assisted reproductive technology.

The Cyberspace Administration is responsible for supervising website platforms to fulfill their main responsibilities, cooperating with relevant departments to timely clean up illegal and irregular information related to assisted reproductive technology, and dealing with website platforms that provide human assisted reproductive technology services in violation of laws and regulations. Carry out online promotion and public opinion guidance for special actions, and create a good public opinion atmosphere.

The People's Court and the People's Procuratorate are responsible for working together with departments such as health and public security to crack down on suspected criminal activities in the illegal application of human assisted reproductive technology in accordance with the law, jointly improve the consultation mechanism for major cases, jointly conduct research on relevant legal application issues, and provide guidance for case investigation and handling.

Public security organs should strengthen cooperation and cooperation with relevant administrative authorities, and strictly crack down on illegal medical practices, forgery, and sale of birth medical certificates and other illegal criminal activities in accordance with the law. Conduct investigations into suspected criminal cases discovered during work and transferred by relevant departments. Those that meet the filing standards will be filed in accordance with the law and severely punished. If necessary, relevant compulsory measures shall be taken in accordance with the law. Cooperate with the health administrative department to guide medical institutions in equipping identification, fingerprint and other equipment.

The competent department of telecommunications is responsible for cooperating with the departments of ICT, health and market supervision to strengthen the supervision of services related to human assisted reproductive technology and birth medical certificate on the Internet. Cooperate with the investigation and punishment of illegal Internet websites that use the Internet to publish surrogacy services, illegally trade eggs and other related information and advertisements.

The education department strengthens the education on reproductive health for students and promotes legal education on hygiene, health, and other related laws. Integrate legal education with health education, strengthen publicity on rights protection, and enhance students' self-protection awareness and legal literacy.

The civil affairs department strictly fulfills the responsibilities of lawful adoption registration, strengthens the management of adoption registration, and promotes marriage and family counseling services.

The market supervision and management department shall investigate and deal with illegal commercial marketing and publicity activities involving the illegal application of human assisted reproductive technology in accordance with its responsibilities in accordance with the law.

The drug regulatory authorities shall strengthen the supervision and inspection of drug and medical device production and operation enterprises and users in accordance with their responsibilities. Supervise the production and distribution of drugs and medical devices related to human assisted reproductive technology, and cooperate with relevant departments to investigate and punish illegal use of human assisted reproductive technology using related drugs and medical devices. Cooperate with the health administrative department and public security organs to carry out technical work such as inspection and appraisal of seized drugs and medical devices involved in the case.

The Women's Federation is responsible for leveraging its organizational advantages, relying on relevant work carriers and platforms, strengthening legal publicity and education, guiding women to use human assisted reproductive technology in accordance with the law, and safeguarding their own rights and interests in accordance with the law.

The health departments of various units in the military shall implement this notice synchronously.

4、 Staged promotion of special activities

Concentrated rectification stage. The health administrative departments of each league and city take the lead in organizing relevant departments to formulate specific measures according to the responsibilities and tasks specified in the plan, establish and improve work mechanisms, and concentrate on carrying out special activities to combat illegal and criminal activities such as the use of human assisted reproductive technology. This includes carrying out supervision and inspection, case investigation, and self inspection and rectification work.

Key spot check stage. The autonomous region shall organize key spot checks on special actions throughout the region. The National Health Commission conducts spot checks on the implementation of special actions in key provinces and cities, incorporates the work of special activities into the comprehensive supervision and inspection of the medical and health industry, and conducts timely spot checks and secret visits on the work of key provinces.

Supervision and evaluation stage. The National Health Commission, in conjunction with 14 departments including the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, conducted consultations, judgments, and supervision on major and difficult cases. Comprehensively summarize and evaluate the work of special actions, and comprehensively summarize the work of special activities in various regions and departments.

5、 Ensure the organization and guarantee of special activities

Enhance political stance and strengthen organizational leadership. All regions and departments should implement the spirit of instructions and instructions from the central leadership, strengthen organizational leadership with a highly responsible attitude towards the health of the people, accelerate deployment and implementation, timely report information and work progress, solidly carry out special activities and actions, and ensure that all work tasks are implemented effectively.

Clarify the division of responsibilities and form a collaborative work force. All relevant departments should collaborate and closely cooperate with each other according to their respective responsibilities to form a collaborative work force. Each region should further improve the mechanism of departmental linkage and carry out joint law enforcement. For case clues related to the responsibilities of other departments discovered in work, they should be promptly reported and transferred to the corresponding departments. Upon receiving complaints and reports, it is necessary to promptly verify those within the responsibilities of the department, handle them seriously in accordance with the law, and provide timely feedback on the results of the handling to the parties involved; For those who belong to the responsibilities of other departments, they should be promptly transferred or reported to the relevant departments for verification and processing. Each region should form a joint inspection team in conjunction with relevant departments to supervise and inspect the special action work within its jurisdiction, and supervise key areas and important cases of illegal and irregular use of human assisted reproductive technology.

Implement a long-term mechanism and form a joint management force. Each region should further implement a long-term work mechanism led by the health administrative department and participated by relevant departments to crack down on illegal and irregular activities such as the use of human assisted reproductive technology. Implement mechanisms such as joint law enforcement investigations, major case consultations and supervision, case transfer, case information sharing, public opinion guidance, and reward reporting. Clarify the responsibilities of all parties, improve the administrative law enforcement cooperation mechanism, and form a joint management force of resource sharing, information exchange, and smooth cooperation. Each department shall, in accordance with their responsibilities, incorporate the illegal use of human assisted reproductive technology into the credit supervision system, establish a "blacklist" of institutions and individuals engaged in illegal activities, record administrative penalty information under the name of market entities, and publicly disclose it through the national enterprise credit information disclosure system in accordance with the law. Implement comprehensive governance and joint punishment to effectively safeguard the health rights and interests of the people.

Positive publicity and guidance, creating a good atmosphere. Widely carry out reproductive health education and legal education through multiple channels and methods, and strengthen positive publicity and guidance. Promote the harm of illegal use of human assisted reproductive technology, enhance the awareness of medical institutions and personnel in practicing according to law, enhance the public's awareness of safe medical treatment, and enhance their identification ability. Strengthen social supervision, expand channels for complaints and reports, and further improve the system of rewarding reports. Mobilize urban and rural community social organizations and residents to form a situation of legal crackdown and collective prevention and control.

The health commissions of each league and city shall summarize and report the progress of the special activities carried out in their respective regions in the previous month before the first day of each month, and submit a work summary before January 1, 2024. Promptly report major issues.