Wagner Nicky: Human Assisted Reproductive Technology (Storage) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Wagner Nicky: Human Assisted Reproductive Technology (Storage) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
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NICKY WAGNER (National) 
: 
 It is with great pleasure that I rise to support the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology (Storage) Amendment Bill at its third reading. In essence this is a simple bill. The aim is just to make clear that gametes and embryos stored before the Act came into effect in 2004 must be disposed of before the expiry of 10 years of that date or such later date as approved by the Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology. It also clarifies the powers and duties of the ethics committee when it considers extensions of storage times and confirms that the ethics committee must be guided by the Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology when considering longer periods of storage.  
I have already said that this is a simple bill but simple things are often difficult to legislate for. The Health Committee took some time to make sure that this bill would be effective in an area of technology that is changing very rapidly. Although the bill limits the storage of human eggs or sperm gametes and embryos to 10 years only the select committee recommended provision of a grace period of 6 months after the expiry date of the 10-year storage limit. The amendment was simply for practicality as organisations that stored reproductive material were concerned that an absolute deadline without any leeway could be difficult to manage. But the select committee also made it very clear that material could not be used for any other purposes during those 6 months.  
We also considered the situation of stored gametes used to create embryos that then themselves are stored. The select committee recommended that the permitted 10-year storage period for embryos created by stored gametes ran from the earliest storage date of the gametes which gave consistency to the storage period regardless of the form of reproductive material when it was first stored. We also considered the situation of gametes and embryos stored in other countries and again for consistency we recommended that storage time outside New Zealand be taken into account when calculating the 10-year storage period. The Act allows for the ethics committee to approve an extension of storage time and the select committee recommended amendments in the bill to clarify the functions of that committee when making those decisions. Finally the bill makes it very clear that the ethics committee must act on guidelines and advice offered by the Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology when making decisions on extended storage periods.  
Assisted reproductive technology is responsible for the birth of about 900 babies in New Zealand every year and its use is increasing. About 15 in every 100 couples in New Zealand have difficulty conceiving a child and about five in every 100 have in vitro fertilisation—IVF—treatment. With older parents and lower sperm counts in New Zealand men the demand for in vitro fertilisation in New Zealand is growing so it is important that our legislation on the storage of gametes and embryos is clear. The select committee has considered the issues very carefully and has made some practical and well-thought-out amendments. I commend the bill to the House.