Agony In A Test-Tube

Anita, a Kerala schoolteacher, has sued the Centre for Infertility Management at Edappal Hospitals Pvt Ltd in Malappuram for damages worth Rs 20 lakh for allegedly implanting her with another woman’s egg. She was on the verge of death following multi-organ failure from the "ill-conceived" procedure. It was in November ’02 that Anita approached the clinic for assisted reproduction. Next March, two months after the embryo was implanted, she was wheeled in with acute abdominal pain and was operated upon. She was later shifted to a Thrissur hospital where her pregnancy was terminated. According to director of medical education Dr M.R. Chandran, a proper law is yet to be in place to check unethical practices since art is in its infancy here.