Laws & policies

LAW'S AND POLICIES
See BioPolicyWiki (an on-line guide to laws and policies governing the use of human genetic and reproductive technologies throughout the world).
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SWISS LAW ON MEDICALLY ASSISTED PROCREATION

1. Introduction
On May 17^th 1992, the Swiss people have accepted by a large majority of voters (73.8%) and unanimity of cantons a new constitutional article (24 ^novies) about the protection of man and his environment against potential abuses in procreation techniques and genetic engineering. The Law on Medically Assisted Procreation (LPMA) and its Ordinance (OPMA) constitute the legal bodies in which the activity in this field is regulated.

2. LPMA
The LPMA was published on December 18^th 1998 and is active since January 1^st 2001. Links are provided here for download of the official text (french, german, italian).

3. OPMA
The OPMA was published on December 4^th 2000 and is active since January 1^st 2001. Links are provided here for download of the official text (french, german, italian).
The LPMA and the OPMA set limits to the practice of medically assisted procreation in humans in Switzerland. 

4. Forbidden procedures
The following procedures are forbidden by the law:

• Oocyte donation
• Embryo donation
• Surrogate motherhood
• Development in vitro of more embryos than those to be replaced. This number is restricted to three.
• Cryopreservation of cleaved embryos
• Research on human embryos
• Pre-implantation diagnosis
• Sex selection
• Intervention on the genome of human gametes
• Cloning
• Creation of chimeras and hybrids