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

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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

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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

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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

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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!

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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!

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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

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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

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Stem cells to treat disease

• Michael J Fox Parkinsons disease
• Christopher Reeve Paralysis
• Ronald Reagan Alzheimers disease

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Harvesting stem cells from embryos
www.arhp.org
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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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

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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

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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

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40th Anniversary of Abortion Act 27 October 2007
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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

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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

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3D Ultrasounds

• Walking in the womb at twelve weeks
• Yawning, smiling and thumb-sucking at 20 weeks
• Accessible moving images on you tube

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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

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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

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Abortion survivors

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

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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

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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)

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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)

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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

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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

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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

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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/)