Vietnam legislators propose making trading fetuses a human trafficking crime

During a Tuesday session to discuss the draft amendment to the law on preventing and combating human trafficking, Le Thi Nga, head of the Judicial Committee, highlighted that some delegates have proposed including the trading of fetuses under the definition of human trafficking. Nga emphasized that this would provide a legal basis to combat agreements to trade humans before birth.

However, the Judicial Committee acknowledged that fetuses are not currently classified as people under the law, making it challenging to categorize their trade as human trafficking. The committee noted that while trading fetuses is often a precursor to human trafficking, it does not, by itself, fit the legal definition.

The current draft of the law includes a provision stating that the trading of fetuses and agreements to trade individuals before birth are illegal. Bui Van Cuong, the NA General Secretary, supported this approach, explaining that people are generally recognized by their biological functions, such as respiration, eating, and drinking.

“From a biological perspective, fetuses, once developed to a certain stage, can be considered people in a natural sense, as they meet the criteria of a person. The only distinction is that they reside in the womb,” Cuong said.

Nguyen Thanh Hai, head of the Delegate Affairs Committee, pointed out that in Vietnamese culture, a developing fetus is considered human. Therefore, he argued, it is appropriate to classify the trade of fetuses as human trafficking.

However, Nguyen Thuy Anh, head of the Social Committee, cautioned that the classification of fetuses as people is a contentious issue worldwide and requires careful consideration.

“A ban on trading fetuses is needed, but fetuses cannot be classified as people, as abortion would be considered murder then,” Anh said.

Nguyen Quang Dung, Deputy Head of the Supreme People’s Procuracy of Vietnam, also noted that classifying the trading of fetuses as human trafficking could complicate law enforcement efforts, and therefore the practice should not be included under the definition of human trafficking.

Between 2018 and 2022, Vietnam reported 440 human trafficking cases involving over 1,200 victims, with 58% of them being women, according to the Ministry of Public Security. These cases included 19 related to sexual exploitation, 132 to labor exploitation and four to organ harvesting.

From 2012 to 2020, the majority of human trafficking cases involved transporting people from Vietnam to other countries, accounting for 85% of the cases. However, there has been a rise in domestic human trafficking cases, which now account for nearly half of all cases.

In the past four years, authorities have rescued 352 victims of human trafficking and verified the identities of 545 victims who managed to return on their own.