IVF in Vegetative State:
The Delhi High Court upheld a woman’s right to continue In-vitro Fertilization (IVF) with an Indian Army soldier in a vegetative state (disorder of consciousness), holding that his prior consent remains valid despite his current medical condition.The soldier’s wife approached the court to resume the IVF treatment, invoking her right to motherhood, dignity, and reproductive autonomy under Article 21 (Right to Life).The court stated that under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, the wife’s consent will legally be treated as valid consent on her husband’s behalf in this unique situation.Despite the medical board noting a “meagre” chance of retrieving viable sperm, the court allowed the procedure.In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is one of the most widely used Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) for treating infertility, where a woman’s eggs are fertilized with sperm outside the body in a laboratory, and the resulting embryo is transferred into the uterus to achieve pregnancy.
