Japan halts in vitro for HIV couples

TOKYO, July 20 (UPI) -- The Japanese government has blocked an attempt to use in vitro fertilization procedures for couples in which both partners have the HIV virus, sources say.

Japan's Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry made the move despite earlier approvals given by ethics committees for Tokyo's Ogikubo Hospital, sources close to the situation told the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper Sunday.

In what the newspaper said was a rare move, a ministry panel studying the ethical issues involved has scheduled a public hearing for July 28 to discuss whether to approve the in vitro treatment and to come up with rules for future cases.

Ogikubo Hospital Vice President Hideji Hanabusa says he and his staff have developed a method to remove the AIDS-causing HIV virus from sperm, and that using the procedure, he has already been successful in implementing in vitro fertilization for couples in which only the husbands were infected.

About 65 babies have been born through this method, and all the mothers and children have remained HIV-free, the newspaper said.