The purpose of the Act is to ensure that the medical use of biotechnology benefits people in a society with room for everyone. 

This must be done in accordance with the principles of respect for human dignity, human rights, and personal integrity, and without discrimination on the basis of genetic heritage. The Act is based on ethical norms established in our Western cultural heritage.

Assisted Reproduction

Assisted reproduction is medical treatment intended to help a woman become pregnant by means other than sexual intercourse.

The treatment may involve insemination using the partner's sperm or donor sperm. It can also involve fertilisation outside the body.

This means that an egg from the woman herself or from an egg donor is fertilised outside the body before being implanted. Assisted reproduction may be offered to married, cohabiting, and single women.

Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (Genetic Testing of Fertilised Eggs)

Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis is a genetic examination of a fertilised egg before it is implanted in the woman's uterus.

This treatment is offered to couples who are at high risk of having a child with a serious hereditary disease. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis can be combined with testing the tissue type of the fertilised egg.

This is done to select and implant a fertilised egg that may result in a child with a compatible tissue type, who can be a stem cell donor for a sibling with a serious hereditary disease.

Prohibition of Cloning

Under the Biotechnology Act, cloning humans is prohibited. It is also prohibited to conduct research on cell lines derived from cloned human embryos.

The term cloning covers various techniques for producing genetically identical copies.

Prenatal Diagnosis

Prenatal diagnosis involves examining a foetus or a pregnant woman to obtain information about the genetic characteristics of the foetus, or to detect or rule out disease or developmental abnormalities in the foetus.

Methods of prenatal diagnosis include ultrasound examinations, NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing), chorionic villus sampling, and amniocentesis. Early ultrasound (weeks 11 to 14 of pregnancy) is offered to all pregnant women.

Prenatal diagnosis is also offered to pregnant women, for example, if the woman or her partner has previously had a child with a serious illness or developmental abnormality.

Genetic Testing of Born Individuals

A genetic test provides information about a person's hereditary characteristics, including through analysis of genetic material. Predictive and presymptomatic genetic tests can provide information about a person's risk of developing disease in the future.

Genetic tests for carrier status show whether a person carries genes for hereditary diseases that may appear in later generations. For predictive and presymptomatic genetic tests, as well as genetic tests for carrier status, tailored genetic counselling must be provided. Such tests must not, as a general rule, be carried out on children under the age of 16.

To prevent misuse of information about the risk of future disease, insurance companies and employers, for example, must not have access to predictive genetic information.

Gene Therapy

Gene therapy is medical treatment in which genetic material is transferred to human cells.

Gene therapy can only be used to treat disease or prevent it from occurring.