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Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill
Today, 19th November 2007, the House of Lords will be opening the debate on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Bill. This is the first opportunity for parliament to debate the issue raised by the Bill, including animal-human hybrids, the definition of the family and need for a father, and review of the abortion law.
Please pray that many peers will be present at the debate, and that those who speak will put the arguments clearly and cogently on each of the three issues:
Embryo research, cloning, hybrid embryos etc;
Definition of the family, need for a father;
Review of abortion law.
Please pray for the protest taking place outside Parliament during the debate, where demonstrators will be dressed as half-human/half-cow or half-human/half-rabbit hybrids. These ‘cow boys’ and ‘bunny girls’ will be trying to raise awareness of the dangers of legalising the creation of hybrid embryos. Pray that their demonstration will catch the attention of both parliamentarians and the media in an effective way.
CCFON press release about the protest
Praise God that Professor Ian Wilmut, the scientist who is famous for creating Dolly the Sheep, has publicly turned his back on cloning. He has decided that the use of adult stem cells holds much more promise and intends to redirect his efforts into that area of research. This public acknowledgment of the futility of embryonic stem cell research marks a return of integrity and common sense to the scientific debate.
However, the HFE Bill continues to pose a serious threat to the prohibition on reproductive cloning currently in place in the UK. As the Independent on Sunday reported this weekend (see link below), the new Bill could open the door to allowing embryos created by three ‘parents’, using a procedure which is dangerously close to cloning.
CCFONtv: BBC News 24 – 17 November 2007: Prof Wilmut backtracks on embryo stem cell process
BBC article, “Dolly scientist abandons cloning”
Telegraph article, “Dolly creator Prof Ian Wilmut shuns cloning”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/11/16/scidolly116.xml
Telegraph Article, “Stemming the Tide”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/11/17/dl1702.xml
Independent on Sunday article, “The cloning revolution: Ministers to back controversial change to law”
Praise God that Iain Duncan Smith has taken a stand for the family by opposing the HFE Bills provisions which remove the requirement that IVF providers consider the child’s need for a father.
The Mail on Sunday article quoting Ian Duncan Smith, “80% are opposed to making IVF easier for lesbians”
Article in the Daily mail today, “Fatherless families, a dangerous Bill and a dilemma for David Cameron”
Action
In addition to praying, please continue to write to peers, as well as to Gordon Brown, David Cameron and the Health Ministers (see link below) to raise your concerns about this Bill.
CCFONtv – July 2007: Abortion & Human Tissue & Embryos Bill video
Text of HFE Bill
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/pabills/200708/human_fertilisation_and%20_embryology.htm
Our latest update on the Bill and how to write to Lords
Link to list of Health Ministers
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Aboutus/MinistersandDepartmentLeaders/Ministers/index.htm
Below is the text of a letter we sent to all members of the House of Lords last week:
Deconstruction of a Civilised Society – Ramifications of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act
We hope this Bill will concern all Peers – both the detail and the philosophy behind it are disturbing. The philosophy is nothing less than the deconstruction of the traditional family and a radical change in what it means to be human. We believe the Bill to be a dangerous experiment which puts the interests of the children affected at risk and has unknown consequences for the human race. The main issues are, in summary, as follows.
First, the Bill confers legal "parenthood" on couples undergoing assisted reproduction, even though they may be of the same gender and one, or indeed both, of them may have no biological relationship to the child. The result is that a legal fiction of "parenthood" will be created without any reference to biological reality. Unlike under the adoption process, this will be based on the preferences of adults, rather than the best interests of the child.
Secondly, the Bill will redefine what is meant by ‘human’, and the rights and dignities accorded to human life, by legalising the creation of embryos by fertilising a human egg with animal sperm, or fertilising an animal egg with human sperm. This is the most disturbing of a raft of provisions which will further downgrade the dignity of the embryo (something which the 1990 Act stipulated should be protected). In addition, the Bill needlessly repeals the Human Reproductive Cloning Act 2001. This Act gave us a clear prohibition on placing a cloned embryo inside a woman, and indicated that such an act was beyond the ethical bounds of science. The prohibition should be clearly and expressly included in the new Bill, rather than implied.
Finally, the Bill will open up the abortion debate and it is to be expected that, despite the huge number of abortions that already take place in this nation, pro-abortionists will be seeking to further liberalise this area of the law so that it works in a way that was never intended when abortion was legalised 40 years ago.
Yours sincerely
Andrea Minichiello Williams
LCF Public Policy Director