LEGCO WORK

Motion on “Policies on supporting assisted reproduction”(2024.06.20)

Thank you, Deputy President. Economists have pointed out that if this international financial centre of Hong Kong is to maintain its development momentum and reduce the impact of population ageing, it must gradually increase its population to 10million. However, with an average of 0.8 births per women, the fertility rate of young couples in Hong Kong is low, and it is even the lowest in the world. Even though we can attract international talents to Hong Kong, Hong Kong people should give birth to their children in Hong Kong. Given that local births are the most important, the Government has launched a series of measures to encourage childbearing in recent years. On the other hand, although the fertility rate in Hong Kong is low, some people who want very much to give birth are infertile. The Government should strengthen the support for assisted reproduction to help these infertile couples to give birth, so as to boost the fertility rate.

I thank Ms Nixie LAM for moving the motion for discussion today. According to the information from the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong (“FPA”), one in every six couples faces difficulties in conception, indicating that infertility is quite common. Due to technological advancement, more couples are willing to try out assisted reproductive technologies in recent years. In 2019, 2 737 babies were born with the help of assisted reproductive technologies, accounting for 5.8% of the total number of babies born that year.

At present, only three public hospitals provide such services, and only some 1 600 treatments were administered per year. As a result, new cases may have to wait up to 150 weeks, and service-seekers are subject to certain conditions. As for private hospitals, they charge at least $100,000 or more, which is beyond the affordability of the general public, and the success rate is limited. For this reason, the Government proposed last year a tax deduction for assisted reproductive services, with a ceiling of $100,000. I believe this can help many middle-class people, but for the general public, the most practical way is to increase the relevant public service quotas.

A focus of the motion today is to extend the period of oocyte storage. As a matter of fact, for career or late marriage reasons, some women have chosen to freeze their oocytes for storage in recent years. From 2015 to 2021, the number of oocyte freezing has increased by 15 times. However, the Government has made it clear that it will not support oocyte storage for non-health reasons, saying that this is against its policy of encouraging childbearing at an early age. Therefore, it will not allow tax deduction for the relevant expenses. Currently, the laws in Hong Kong only allow the storage of frozen oocytes for 10 years. Some people think that this stipulation is outdated, saying that women nowadays may store their oocytes when they are young and decide some 10 to 20 years later whether or not to give birth. That is why many places do not limit the period for storing frozen oocytes. In my opinion, as long as no medical ethics are breached and public funding is not required, there is no need for the Government to impose any restriction on the storage period.

Deputy President, I wish to talk about Chinese medicine or integrated Chinese and Western medicine treatment for infertility in particular. Chinese medicine has a history of at least several hundred years in treating infertility. With the modernization of Chinese medicine in the past few decades and more in-depth research on the treatment of infertility, Chinese medicine has developed its unique advantage. By regulating body functions, it can improve the general state of one’s body health and strengthen one’s vigour, thereby increasing the rate of conception. According to a number of studies conducted by the Chinese medicine industry in the Mainland, an integrated Chinese and Western medicine treatment can greatly enhance treatment effectiveness, and the chance of conception is higher than using Western medicine alone because the cause of infertility may be ascribed to physical problems of the couple. Although Western medicine has advanced testing and reproductive technologies, it is stripped of those methods for regulating body functions as advocated by Chinese medicine. Hence, an integration of Chinese and Western medicine can combine the strengths of the two, which will be very helpful to the treatment of infertility.

As a matter of fact, Chinese medicine has been very popular in Hong Kong all along for treating infertility. Many infertile couples have chosen Chinese medicine to treat their infertility and achieved success in conception. There are countless similar examples. Moreover, compared with assisted reproductive technologies adopted by Western medical practitioners, Chinese medicine treatment is honestly less costly and cost-effective. Since Hong Kong has an excellent tradition of Chinese medicine, the Government should make better use of it. The Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Hospital, which will commission service next year, will be equipped with a gynaecology department that can provide infertility treatment. I suggest that the Government should put in more resources to provide Chinese medicine treatment to patients. In addition, the hospital should strengthen cooperation with Mainland hospitals to introduce the most advanced treatment methods to serve the people of Hong Kong.

Thank you, Deputy President.

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