Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly opposes three parent IVF

The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Group has signed a Written Declaration opposing proposals to introduce a controversial IVF technique that will result in the creation of children with three parents.

Earlier this year, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority advised the Government to permit the use of the technique, which involves transferring both parents’ DNA into a donor egg.

34 members of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Group signed the declaration affirming that the technique was a eugenic practice that was "incompatible with international law and human dignity".  Among other international texts, it cited Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights which states:

"An intervention seeking to modify the human genome may only be undertaken for preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic purposes and only if its aim is not to introduce any modification in the genome of any descendants."

Read the full Written Declaration here >

Last month, researchers at the University of Sheffield, the University of Sussex and Monash University in Australia raised concerns about the side effects of the technique, saying that it could affect fertility, learning and behaviour. Read more (BBC) >