Human Tissue and Embryos Draft Bill: key concerns

The Committee’s main recommendations lie in three areas: the regulatory regime proposed by the Government, issues around the approval of inter-species embryo research and ethical issues surrounding fertility.

Firstly, the draft Bill proposes merging the existing regulatory authorities currently dealing with human tissue and embryos. The Committee believe that existing regulatory bodies should be retained and not merged.

Secondly, the Committee are critical of the Government’s approach to the regulation of inter-species embryos created for research purposes. The Committee want the Government to revisit its approach to inter-species embryos for research and think that this issue should be put to a free vote in both Houses.

Thirdly, a major ethical issue raised in the draft Bill is whether children born as a result of donor conception should have the right to know they are donor conceived. The Committee call on the Government to give this further consideration as a matter of urgency. In addition, the Committee believes that the current ‘need for a father’ condition in IVF treatment should be retained but again call for this issue to be decided in a free vote.

Other recommendations in the report include:

• A joint Parliamentary bioethics committee
• Government action to ensure NICE guidelines on the provision of IVF treatment are implemented across the country by all Primary Care Trusts
• Clarity about the ban in the draft Bill on human cloning and the creation of embryos for IVF treatment from the genetic material of two women (without the need for fertilisation by sperm)
• Government action to fulfil its duty to be more active in informing public understanding of bioethics issues.

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