Have your Say!

Pretty soon the Commons will be grappling with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. This will "modernise" the law on what scientists and doctors will be permitted to do in the controversial world of human reproduction.

I currently intend to vote against three measures in particular - but I thought I ought to consult you on this first!

I am nervous about allowing scientists to fuse animal embryos with human ones, the proposal dubbed a Frankenstein measure by some (probably unhelpfully - this debate deserves serious language.) Such hybrid creations would only be permitted to exist for 14 days, and experimentation on them could be helpful in pushing forward the battle against disease. Even so I do not believe we should tamper with nature in such a flagrant way. There has recently been significant progress in using adult stem cells for this important research and I would prefer to see this developed rather than specifically creating life, whether hybrid or not, just for experimentation.

Similarly, I am uneasy about the concept of saviour siblings. This is where a second child is created in a way that means he or she will have bone marrow or other tissue that can be used to help an older brother or sister. This is would be good for the sick child already alive, but I am concerned about the future impact on the specially manufactured child. Many people already struggle with their own identity. How would it be to know that you were born or crafted in a certain way to save a sibling? Would not that person always wonder - who would I be if I had just developed naturally in the womb?

Finally, I do not like the proposal to do away with any need of naming a father in the process of conception. With the obvious exception of human tragedy, I am against any process that brings a child into the world, already fatherless. I appreciate that many children grow up in that state, but we should not be designing children in this way. Law is both about practical impact and setting out our framework of values. We can hardly bring pressure to bear on parents of turbulent teenagers on the one hand and sanction fatherlessness at birth on the other. There are free votes on these issues, although my faith and instincts steer my conscience in this direction in any event. But I am keen to know what you think.

posted by Gary Streeter M.P. on Thursday, April 10, 2008