Rajasthan suspends nine licences of IVF chain over blue foetus advertisement
Rajasthan's health authorities on Tuesday suspended nine registration certificates of Neelkanth Fertility and Women’s Care Hospital, also known as Neelkanth IVF Centre, after a newspaper advertisement depicted a blue-coloured foetus, which officials said was a prima facie indication of promoting sex selection services.
The suspension, effective immediately until further orders, covers assisted reproductive technology (ART) clinics, ART banks, and surrogacy clinics operated by the hospital across the state. Three of the centres are in Jaipur, two in Jodhpur, and one each in Bhilwara, Udaipur, Kota and Ajmer.
Principal Medical and Health Secretary Gayatri Rathore said the advertisement, which used the colour blue typically associated with a male child, prompted the department to view it as a violation of the statutory ban on sex selection. “There is a complete statutory ban on any form of sex selection and sex-selective ART procedures. The State government will ensure strict compliance with the legal provisions by all institutions involved in ART and surrogacy,” Ms. Rathore said.
The action has been initiated under the provisions of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, which regulates ART clinics and banks and prohibits sex selection at any stage of treatment. The law also provides for penalties for violations, including suspension or cancellation of registration.
According to the hospital's website, it was founded in 2003 and claims to have a dedicated team of doctors and embryologists as well as world-class laboratory facilities for providing “ethical, advanced, and patient-focused fertility care”. It says it has treated over 25,000 couples since its inception.
The hospital has not yet issued a public response to the allegations or the suspension order. Health officials said the move is part of a broader effort to ensure that all ART and surrogacy institutions strictly follow legal provisions.
Sex selection has been illegal in India under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, and the ART Act reinforces this prohibition for fertility treatments. The depiction of a blue foetus in advertising is seen as an attempt to attract couples seeking male children, a practice that the government is determined to curb.
The suspension affects the hospital's operations in multiple cities, potentially disrupting services for patients undergoing fertility treatment. Authorities have not indicated whether patients will be transferred to other facilities or how existing treatment cycles will be managed.
