Fatherless babies in fertility revolution: Knowledge Driven Revolution

A child's need for a father will no longer be a consideration when a woman seeks fertility treatment, ministers will say this week.

The move – which comes despite widespread public opposition and which will give single women and lesbians the right to treatment – forms part of a shake-up of Britain's embryology laws. One of the key proposals would allow research on test-tube embryos that were part-human, part-animal — referred to as "chimeras".

The changes, which ministers say have "fundamental social, legal and ethical aspects", are set out in a Department of Health "command paper" seen by The Sunday Telegraph.

Homosexual couples will have the same parental rights as heterosexuals and, for the first time, all parents will be banned from choosing the sex of their baby for non-medical reasons.

However, embryos will be able to be screened for genetic abnormalities "which may lead to serious medical conditions, disabilities or miscarriage".

Screening will also be expressly permitted to identify a "tissue match for a sibling suffering a life-threatening illness", but the document rules out "family balancing" and adds that most people surveyed in a consultation exercise believed "this should not be a matter of choice open to parents".

The creation of combined human-animal embryos under licence will be popular among stem-cell researchers, including a team from the North East England Stem Cell Institute, which has submitted plans to create a human-cow chimera embryo. However, it will be bitterly contested by reproductive ethics campaigners who brand such ideas "abhorrent".

The aim of the shake-up is to bring the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act into line with scientific advances and to make sure the law is "fit for purpose in the early 21st century". Caroline Flint, the health minister, claims in her foreword: "The over-arching aim is to pursue the common good through a system broadly acceptable to society."

She proposes doing away with the current regulatory bodies, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and the Human Tissue Authority, and replacing them with a Regulatory Authority for Tissue and Embryos (Rate). Some medical advances will be outlawed, including the possible creation of a child by combining genetic material of two women, which would render males redundant altogether.

However, the law obliging clinics to consider a child's "need for a father" is to be scrapped – despite backing from the public for the present system. However, the need to take account of the "welfare of the child" before treatment is given will stay.

Robert Whelan, the deputy director of Civitas, the institute for the study of civil society, criticised the plans to give single mothers the right to fertility treatment.

"It is grossly irresponsible to deliberately bring a child into the world in circumstances which will leave it at a disadvantage," he said.

"The people who engage in this sort of activity see children as an accessory and something they can have as a right. The fact that the child will suffer is secondary."

In other changes, private companies which provide sperm to women over the internet will be regulated for the first time and charities and other non-profit-making organisations will be able to advertise surrogacy services.

Sperm donors will get "access [to] limited, non-identifying information about children conceived as a result of their donations".

They will also, "in some circumstances", have the right to be informed when their identifying details are provided to their children when they reach 18.

Donor-conceived children can find out if they have siblings conceived by the same method when they reach 18.

Another change will affect storage of embryos. This can currently be done for five years as long as neither parent withdraws consent.

The Government proposes extending this period to 10 years and also to introduce a one-year "cooling-off period" where an embryo can still be stored if one parent withdraws consent.

The paper, expected on Friday, will set out the Government's plans ahead of a draft Bill next year.

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HOME Party Police, Party Courts and Concentration Camps P3s, Nazis and Polite Canadian Fascism The Ghost in the Machine - The Forced Chemical Evolution of Man Rouge States and the 9/11 Truth Terrorists Canadians Should Pay NOT to be Poisoned: NDP V for Vendetta - R for Reality Canadian Bird Flu Pandemic Looming ? Shill of the Week: Stephan Harper Aspartame: The Sweetest Killer Chicken Little Terrorist of the Week: Creating Fake Terrorists Shill of the Week: Paul Martin The Number 1 Reason YOU became a Slave	Fatherless babies in fertility revolution Patrick Hennessy and Beezy Marsh - London Telegraph December 11, 2006 A child's need for a father will no longer be a consideration when a woman seeks fertility treatment, ministers will say this week. The move – which comes despite widespread public opposition and which will give single women and lesbians the right to treatment – forms part of a shake-up of Britain's embryology laws. One of the key proposals would allow research on test-tube embryos that were part-human, part-animal — referred to as "chimeras". The changes, which ministers say have "fundamental social, legal and ethical aspects", are set out in a Department of Health "command paper" seen by The Sunday Telegraph. Homosexual couples will have the same parental rights as heterosexuals and, for the first time, all parents will be banned from choosing the sex of their baby for non-medical reasons. However, embryos will be able to be screened for genetic abnormalities "which may lead to serious medical conditions, disabilities or miscarriage". Screening will also be expressly permitted to identify a "tissue match for a sibling suffering a life-threatening illness", but the document rules out "family balancing" and adds that most people surveyed in a consultation exercise believed "this should not be a matter of choice open to parents". The creation of combined human-animal embryos under licence will be popular among stem-cell researchers, including a team from the North East England Stem Cell Institute, which has submitted plans to create a human-cow chimera embryo. However, it will be bitterly contested by reproductive ethics campaigners who brand such ideas "abhorrent". The aim of the shake-up is to bring the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act into line with scientific advances and to make sure the law is "fit for purpose in the early 21st century". Caroline Flint, the health minister, claims in her foreword: "The over-arching aim is to pursue the common good through a system broadly acceptable to society." She proposes doing away with the current regulatory bodies, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and the Human Tissue Authority, and replacing them with a Regulatory Authority for Tissue and Embryos (Rate). Some medical advances will be outlawed, including the possible creation of a child by combining genetic material of two women, which would render males redundant altogether. However, the law obliging clinics to consider a child's "need for a father" is to be scrapped – despite backing from the public for the present system. However, the need to take account of the "welfare of the child" before treatment is given will stay. Robert Whelan, the deputy director of Civitas, the institute for the study of civil society, criticised the plans to give single mothers the right to fertility treatment. "It is grossly irresponsible to deliberately bring a child into the world in circumstances which will leave it at a disadvantage," he said. "The people who engage in this sort of activity see children as an accessory and something they can have as a right. The fact that the child will suffer is secondary." In other changes, private companies which provide sperm to women over the internet will be regulated for the first time and charities and other non-profit-making organisations will be able to advertise surrogacy services. Sperm donors will get "access [to] limited, non-identifying information about children conceived as a result of their donations". They will also, "in some circumstances", have the right to be informed when their identifying details are provided to their children when they reach 18. Donor-conceived children can find out if they have siblings conceived by the same method when they reach 18. Another change will affect storage of embryos. This can currently be done for five years as long as neither parent withdraws consent. The Government proposes extending this period to 10 years and also to introduce a one-year "cooling-off period" where an embryo can still be stored if one parent withdraws consent. The paper, expected on Friday, will set out the Government's plans ahead of a draft Bill next year. Read the full article here Broken Link? If the link to the original article is broken or has been altered you can view the article by clicking here. About KDR \| \| Home \| \| Weekly Features Archive	Weekly Features Archive
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