1 / 37

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. CMF Update. Legislative Timeline. Abortion Act 1967 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill 2008. Abortion Act 1967.

felton
Download Presentation

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill CMF Update

  2. Legislative Timeline • Abortion Act 1967 • Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 • Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill 2008

  3. Abortion Act 1967 • Provided immunity for prosecution under Offences against the Person Act 1861 for certain categories of abortion • Abortion on grounds of risk to mental or physical health of mother up to 28 weeks • Abortion up to term to save live of mother

  4. The 1990 HFE Act • Human embryos can be frozen, experimented upon and destroyed • Donor gametes legalised • Door opened for preimplantation diagnosis, therapeutic cloning, saviour siblings • ‘Social abortions’ up to 24 weeks • Abortions for disability up to term

  5. Results of 1967 and 1990 Acts • 6.8 million abortions • 2,200,000 embryos destroyed

  6. HFE Bill 2008 – Several steps further • Threat to human dignity: animal-human hybrids • Threat to the family: commodifying children and creating them fatherless • Threat to human life itself: liberalising abortion law

  7. The HFE Bill in the Lords – all amendments lost • A ban on the creation of animal-human hybrids - lost by 96 to 268 • A ban on the use of saviour siblings - lost by 62 to 180 • An amendment calling for the 'need for a father' for IVF children - lost by 93 to 164 • Restricting saviour siblings to life-threatening disease - lost by 121 to 162 • A ban on abortion between 24 and 40 weeks gestation – lost by 22 to 89 • The Hunt test – animal human hybrids only if no other way – lost by 42 to 197

  8. The Lords – Why did we lose so badly? • This is a government bill and so has the full support of the government • The major scientific and medical institutions are backing the government (MRC, Welcome, Royal Society, BMA, Royal Colleges) • Eight of the nine doctors in the House of Lords back most of what is in the bill • Those pushing the bill are incredibly well organised

  9. The HFE Bill – What happens now? • The Bill completed its passage through the House of Lords on 4 February • First reading in House of Commons 5 February • Second reading (debates stage) in House of Commons 12 May • Committee Stage with votes on ‘fathers’, saviour siblings, animal-human hybrids and abortion on 19-20 May • Time is very short!

  10. The House of Commons – what hope? • The down side - Most MPs will not be well informed - The vote on the whole Bill will be whipped - The government has a huge majority and most are pro the bill and pro-abortion • The up side - Abortion, fathers, saviour siblings and hybrids will be conscience votes - MPs are worried about losing their seats - Public and media opinion counts!

  11. Animal-human hybrids – What is driving this? • Scientific curiosity • The biotechnology industry • The prestige of the British government • Patient interest groups • The Media – especially The Times

  12. Animal-Human hybrids – Why? • To produce cloned animal-human embryos for embryonic stem cell research • Cloning human embryos hasn’t worked and harvesting human eggs is difficult and dangerous

  13. Stem cells to treat disease • Michael J Fox – Parkinson’s disease • Christopher Reeve – Paralysis • Ronald Reagan – Alzheimer’s disease

  14. Harvesting stem cells from embryos www.arhp.org

  15. Animal human hybrids – what is proposed? • ‘Cybrids’ – cytoplasmic hybrids produced by ‘therapeutic cloning’ using human nuclei placed in empty animal eggs (the only hybrids with any research potential) • True hybrids – human eggs fertilised with animal sperm and vice versa • Chimaeras – Embryos comprised of both human and animal cells

  16. Animal human hybrids • Unethical – crossing species boundaries, violating kinds, allowing end to justify means • Unnecessary – unlikely to work, ethical alternatives rapidly becoming available

  17. Human embryonic stem cells • Harvest involves destroying human embryos • Have been successfully cultured but no treatments so far • No stem cell lines have been recovered from cloned embryos • Grow unpredictably in culture and have tendency for tumour formation • Any treatments are 15-20 years off and therefore embryonic stem cells are only being used in research

  18. Embryonic stem cells – alternatives • Embryonic like stem cells (called induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS) can now be produced by reprogramming ordinary adult cells (Yamanaka, Thomson, Nov 2007) • Adult stem cells already treat over 70 diseases • Umbilical cord stem cells are already used in treatments and are easily harvested • Embryonic stem cells are unethical and unnecessary

  19. Lord Winston – ‘stem cell hype’ ‘I was concerned that parliamentarians have been convinced that it was just a matter of a few years before we would be able to transplant stem cells and cure a lot of neurological disorders’ Lord Winston, BA president (5 September 2005)

  20. Saviour siblings • Production of embryos using IVF techniques to produce genetically matched children to donate tissue for transplant to affected siblings • Govt plans to extend use from ‘life-threatening’ to ‘serious’ diseases • Bill in its present form allows donation of stem cells, cord blood, bone marrow cells and even part organs • Harvesting tissue carries dangers for the donor

  21. Saviour siblings – problems • Production of saviour siblings involves destruction of embryos that are not the right genetic match • There is a slippery slope from ‘life-threatening’ to ‘serious’ diseases operating • It has only ever worked in a very small number of patients and alternative treatments are available • Children should not be used as a means to an end • The use of cord blood and adult stem cells will in time make this technology redundant

  22. Need for a father for IVF children – What is proposed? • No need to ‘have regard for child’s need for a father’ recognised for IVF children • Removes choice over having a father for some IVF children • Removes biological father from birth certificate

  23. Fatherhood issues • Should parents’ rights eclipse children’s rights? • Research shows that children without fathers are at a disadvantage • Medical and genetic history will be lost • Issues of identity – who am I? • Creates a legal fiction whereby the biological father is removed from the child’s history

  24. 40th Anniversary of Abortion Act – 27 October 2007

  25. Abortion - Public opinion is changing • More than three-quarters of women support a reduction in the six-month upper age limit • Nearly two-thirds of the public want the six-month upper age limit reduced now • 65% of GPs support a reduction in the six-month upper age limit

  26. Concerns about late Abortion • 100 late abortions beyond 24 weeks each year since 1991 • Recent case at 26 weeks for cleft palate • Joanna Jepson • Down’s Syndrome

  27. 3D Ultrasounds • ‘Walking in the womb’ at twelve weeks • ‘Yawning’, smiling and thumb-sucking at 20 weeks • Accessible moving images on ‘you tube’

  28. Fetal pain • The Abortion industry consensus denies pain perception below 26 weeks, but there are… • Hormones, reflexes and physiological changes at 18 weeks • Prof KJS Anand’s research suggesting sensation at 18 weeks

  29. Neonatal survival • The EPICure Study – 1995 shows survival at 23 and 24 weeks of 11% and 26%. ?EPICure 2 better at 24 weeks • But in Centres of excellence (eg. Minneapolis) 66% and 80% of babies survive at 23 and 24 weeks • UCL study published January 2008 shows similar conclusions

  30. Abortion survivors • Stories of babies born alive after abortion as early as 16 weeks • Survivors testimonies - Gianna Jessen

  31. Health effects of abortion • Mental health – RCPsych Report 16 March says ‘women may be at risk’ and ‘no evidence of psychiatric grounds for abortion’ • Pre-term delivery – Increasingly robust data of a link between abortion and premature birth • Breast cancer – A biologically plausible link and some studies showing an association

  32. Abortion - what we are up against • The coalition • Prochoice MPs • Abortion ‘providers’ – FPA, MS, BPAS • BMA, RCN, RCOG, BAPM • The liberalisers’ agenda • Retaining the 24 week limit • Abortion on request in 1st trimester • Nurse abortion • Home abortion • Excluding doctors who object from seeing women • Extension of Act to Northern Ireland (some)

  33. The Media is waking up – last six weeks headlines • Babies ‘feel pain before 24-week abortion limit’ (Telegraph, 28 Jan) • Survival rate soars for the babies born early - fuelling the debate over abortion limits (Daily Mail , 1 Feb) • 66 babies in a year left to die after NHS abortions that go wrong (Evening Standard, 4 Feb) • Women commits suicide after aborting twins (Daily Mail, 22 Feb)

  34. Abortion – What we can do? To support amendments to HFE Bill seeking • Lowering of 24 week upper limit • Lowering of birth upper limit for disabled babies • Fully informed consent for women To oppose amendments to HFE Bill seeking • Liberalisation of abortion law

  35. What can we do? • Get informed • Sign abortion petition at www.aliveandkickingcampaign.org • Write to and/or visit your MP • Educate people in the churches • Pray

  36. Key things to ask and pray for • Defeat of the bill at second reading • Passing of amendments to neutralise bill’s effects • Courage for MPs, esp govt MPs, to put their heads above parapet and vote against bill and for good amendmenst

  37. Useful web addresses • Christian Medical Fellowship (www.cmf.org.uk) • Alive and Kicking (www.aliveandkickingcampaign.org) • All Party Prolife Group (www.hfebill.org) • Passion for Life (www.passionforlife.org.uk/)

More Related