The first years of the Finnish Act on Assisted Fertility Treatments--observations from the viewpoint of a supervisory authority.

The Act on Assisted Fertility Treatments (1237/2006) entered into force on 1 September 2007. Prior to the entry into force of the Act, the provision of assisted fertility treatments in Finland was governed by general health care legislation and professional ethics codes. The drafting of the Act was a process of exceptional difficulty and duration. With drafting commencing already in the early 1980s, Finland was, at the time, at the forefront among Western industrialised nations, yet ultimately it became one of the last European nations to enact legislation in this sector. The major stumbling blocks in the drafting process concerned surrogacy, the right of persons conceived by using donated gametes to learn the identity of the donor, and access to assisted fertility treatments for single women and lesbian couples. Almost four years of experiences have now been accumulated with the Act. From the perspective of the authority with oversight of the activities, the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira), the Act has proven quite effective. Interpretation of its individual provisions has required fine-tuning, as is only natural in the case of new legislation. The thorniest issues in terms of numbers of queries have been those relating to the donation of gametes and embryos. Overlaps in licensing procedure and oversight based on three different Acts have posed challenges to fertility clinics and the supervisory authorities alike. The greatest dissatisfaction has been expressed towards the transitional provision, the interpretation of which has given rise to differing views and the amendment of which has been debated also in Parliament. This article examines issues in application of the Act of which Valvira has become aware and developments in assisted fertility treatment activities since the entry into force of the Act.