Commentaries: Art. 119

Human beings shall be protected against the misuse of reproductive medicine and gene technology.
The Confederation shall legislate on the use of human reproductive and genetic material. In doing so, it shall ensure the protection of human dignity, privacy and the family and shall adhere in particular to the following principles:
1. All forms of cloning and interference with the genetic material of human reproductive cells and embryos are unlawful.
2. Non-human reproductive and genetic material may neither be introduced into nor combined with human reproductive material.
3. ¹ The procedures for medically-assisted reproduction may be used only if infertility or the risk of transmitting a serious illness cannot otherwise be overcome, but not in order to conceive a child with specific characteristics or to further research; the fertilisation of human egg cells outside a woman’s body is permitted only under the conditions laid down by the law; no more human egg cells may be developed into embryos outside a woman’s body than are required for medically-assisted reproduction.
4. The donation of embryos and all forms of surrogate motherhood are unlawful.
5. The trade in human reproductive material and in products obtained from embryos is prohibited.
6. The genetic material of a person may be analysed, registered or made public only with the consent of the person concerned or if the law so provides.
7. Every person shall have access to data relating to their ancestry.

Adopted by the popular vote on 14 June 2015, in force since 14 June 2015 (FedD of 12 Dec. 2014, FCD of 21 Aug. 2015;AS 2015 2887;BBl 2013 5853, 2014 9675, 2015 6313). ↩

Art. 119