Reproductive clinics now under scrutiny

BEIJING - Health authorities in the capital are planning to intensify their supervision of local assisted reproductive technology clinics in a bid to eliminate illegal sperm trading and other abuses and to better safeguard patients' right.

On Sunday, the Beijing health inspection authority will kick off nine days of inspections for providers of reproductive services. The main target of the supervision will be nine prominent local clinics, each of which was licensed by the Ministry of Health, according to the Beijing News.

Institutions found to have dealt in illegal sperm, to have offered services beyond what they were authorized to do, or to have enabled surrogacy - an arrangement in which a woman carries a child for another person or couple - will face harsh penalties or be forced to shut down, it said.