The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill

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... Embryology Bill. CMF Update. Legislative Timeline. Abortion Act 1967 ... Ronald Reagan Alzheimer's disease. Harvesting stem cells from embryos. www.arhp.org ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill


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 hasnt worked and
    harvesting human eggs is difficult and dangerous

13
Stem cells to treat disease
  • Michael J Fox Parkinsons disease
  • Christopher Reeve Paralysis
  • Ronald Reagan Alzheimers 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 childs 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 childrens 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 childs 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
  • Downs 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 Anands 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.aliveandkickingcampa
    ign.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 bills
    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/)
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