Skip to content

Archive site notice

You are viewing an archived copy of Christian Concern's website. Some features are disabled and pages may not display properly.

To view our current site, please visit christianconcern.com

Human Tissue and Embryo Bill update

Published: November 7th, 2007
Printer-friendly version

  • Human and animal hybrids – striking at the heart of humanity

  • Redefining the family – removal of the father

  • Saviour siblings – designer babies and life as a commodity


The Government are pressing ahead with laws to allow the creation of ‘cytoplasmic hybrid embryos’ (human cells mixed with animal eggs) and ‘true’ hybrids (human eggs mixed with animal sperm and vice versa). Although these proposals have been described as ones which will “ensure Britain remains at the forefront of medical research”, experimenting in this way is not only a horrific affront to God’s creation order, usurping His role as Creator, but is highly dangerous, unethical and unbiblical.


Furthermore, Parliament will relinquish to the regulator of embryo research, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the power to decide the boundaries of science in this area in the future. We cannot predict what scientists will do when given this amount of power to play with the embryo. Unimagined science fiction possibilities could become a living reality.


The family as we know it will be redefined when laws are introduced to allow lesbian couples to gain automatic legal status as parents (two mother legal parenthood) over children born using a sperm donor, even though only one of them will be biologically related to the child.


Homosexual men will also be allowed to apply for a parental order (two father legal parenthood) where a child has been born from a surrogate mother. We can only expect our society to suffer as the full effects of the redefined ‘family’ are played out in years to come.


The previous legal stipulation that in IVF treatment there should be the consideration of the need for a father is done away with and parenthood will be defined in law according to a person’s preference rather than truth, biological fact or the child’s best interests. This flies in the face of the biblical ideal for family - that children should be born to a mother and a father who are married.



The new Bill also broadens the scope for ‘saviour siblings’. Existing law allows embryo selection in order to treat existing children who suffer from life threatening conditions. This process involves the destruction of countless other healthy embryos. Proposals in the bill will extend the law so that embryos can be selected to help children with a ‘serious illness’ too. As there is no legal definition for ‘serious illness’, it could include anything which treatment providers feel should fall within the definition and liberalise this already flawed approach to the treatment of sick children.


We will be providing an action pack soon on how to respond to this piece of legislation.


To read the latest media comment on the Queen’s Speech, and to read the Speech itself, please click on the links below.


Links


  • Share this