Stuart Noble, Parliamentary Officer for CARE in Northern Ireland writes about the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill
Human Fertilisation & Embryology Bill
A series of Public Meetings and recent press coverage have generated a high level of interest in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill that is currently passing through Parliament. Lord Alton of Liverpool and Anne Widdecombe MP have been at the forefront of attempts to highlight the numerous ethical problems posed by the current form of the Bill. At a recent meeting in Belfast, Lord Alton was joined by Jeffrey Donaldson MP and Mark Durkan MP and a number of church leaders to inform people in Northern Ireland about the contents of the Bill. Speaking after the event, Bishop Harold Miller commented, '”We have just had a most informative and important evening. Rarely have I seen such a wide ranging group, in terms of political parties and churches, coming together.”
A detailed analysis of the Bill is available at www.hfebill.org. In summary there are four issues of particular concern:
- The bill will allow the creation of embryos for research which are part human and part animal. The Christian worldview is underpinned by the fact that human life is sacred because it is made ‘in the image of God.’ This attempt to blur the boundaries constitutes a brazen attempt to move away from God given boundaries.
- The bill will legalise the creation of ‘saviour siblings’. This means that screening will be used on IVF embryos to enable a child to be born who genetically matches a sick person within the family. They can then provide a supply of body tissue to be used for treating the sibling. Quite apart from the fact that any embryos that don’t have the right genetic match must be discarded, facilitating the creation of saviour siblings raises questions about psychological and physical harm. What are the implications for a child who knows they were brought into the world to save a sick relative? It suggests that they are a means to an end. What are the physical implications of having to provide tissue or even organs?
- The bill proposes that IVF clinics will no longer need to consider 'the need of the child for a father' when considering a treatment application. This is to avoid offending lesbian couples and suggests that fathers aren’t important. The Bill also prevents children conceived by IVF to a same sex couple from having a father from before their birth until they reach adulthood, when they will only be able to find out the identity of the father.
- Finally there is a suggestion that a number of English MPs will use the Bill as a vehicle to further liberalise abortion laws, including: the extension of the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland, the removal of the two doctors requirement and the sanctioning of the use of GP’s surgeries for abortions.
The other issue of real concern is that the government have suggested that they will not allow MPs a ‘vote of conscience’ on these issues and thus deny the traditional right to a free vote on issues of ethical or moral concern. Writing last week Lord Alton of Liverpool noted, “It is entirely without precedent for a Bill of this nature to be rail-roaded through Parliament on a three line whip, with MPs being denied the right to vote in line with their beliefs. These are not trivial questions. These issues strike at the very heart of what it is to be human. They deeply offend the sensibilities of many decent people. There are questions here about human rights, about human dignity and the common good. In some other European jurisdictions you could be sent to jail for ten years for doing what we intend to make legal.”
For more information on the HFE Bill see:
www.hfebill.org
www.care.org.uk
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