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As we are awaiting the date of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill’s (‘Embryo Bill’) Second Reading in the House of Commons, it is important that MPs are aware of Christians’ views on the Bill. Please write to or visit your MP regarding the Bill if you have not done so already. It would be good to accumulate as much information as possible on MPs’ views on life issues in order to apply political pressure on them and their parties when they canvas our vote.
Letters can be very short—write about the issue that concerns you most and ask your MPs to vote accordingly. The CCFON pack on the Bill helps you to do this easily. It includes information about the Bill and example letters that can be used. A link to the information pack is given below.
Links
CCFON Briefing Pack on the HFE Bill
http://www.ccfon.org/docs/HFE_Bill_Preliminary_Pack_FINAL.pdf
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill (the ‘Embryo Bill’) will have its second reading in the House of Commons soon. A date has not yet been set but it is likely to be soon after the local and mayoral elections on 1st May. We therefore need to continue to apply the political pressure now.
In the Commons the Bill must pass through several stages, these include:
Second Reading: General debate on the Bill where it is voted on as a whole, but no specific amendments can be tabled. Gordon Brown will expect MPs to vote in favour of the Bill at this stage.
Committee Stage: The separate parts (or clauses) of the Bill are examined in detail with debate and amendments. In the House of Commons there are two different types of Committee:
Public Bill Committee
Committee of the Whole House (clauses debated on the floor of the House)
Most Bills go to a Public Bill Committee. These consist of 16-50 members. Fewer Bills go to a Committee of the Whole House. Due to the importance of the ethical and moral issues contained in the Bill, we would like to see all the parts of the Bill pertaining to embryology go to a Committee of the Whole House, so that all MPs are given the opportunity to debate and lay amendments during the Committee stage.
The Prime Minister has allowed Labour MPs to vote freely, according to their conscience, at Committee Stage on three issues: animal-human embryos, 'saviour siblings' and the ‘need for a father’ for children created by IVF treatment.
Report Stage: Here the Committee (whether a Committee of the Whole House or a Public Bill Committee) report to the whole House on the Bill. The Bill can be further amended at this stage. The Prime Minister will also allow a free vote on animal-human embryos, 'saviour siblings' and the ‘need for a father’ for children created by IVF treatment at this stage.
Third Reading: This stage is the final chance for debate and whether to pass the Bill or not. At this stage Labour MPs will not be allowed to vote according to conscience and must vote for the Bill in its entirety.
After the Third Reading, the Bill will be passed back to the House of Lords (where the Bill began its passage through Parliament). Both Houses must agree on the final text. There may be several rounds of exchanges between the two Houses (known as “ping-pong”) until agreement is reached on every word of the Bill.
Once agreed the Bill is given Royal Assent and then becomes an Act of Parliament.
We now have over 20,000 signatures on the Alive and Kicking Campaign to change the law on abortion through the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, and to make abortion rare. There has been lots of people signing on-line, but don’t forget to download a copy of the petition and take it to your church Sunday services, mid-week groups and to family and friends and post the petition back in to Alive and Kicking. We are aiming for 100,000 signatures.
Links to the Petition
On-line petition
Download a copy of the petition
http://www.aliveandkickingcampaign.org/public/pdf/petition.pdf
Day Conference on the Embryo Bill to Equip Christians communicate the importance of the Bill
On 21st April LCF/CCFON are holding a day-long conference, ‘Communicating the Importance of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill’, to equip Christians to deal with the issues raised in the Bill—to demystify the Bill. The conference is taking place at 6-8 Marshalsea Road, London, and will start at 10 am and finish at 4pm. The cost of the conference is £20 (lunch and light refreshments included).
To book a place on the conference please e-mail Simone Lamont at simone@ccfon.org or phone 0207 4076157.
Speakers at the conference include:
Josephine Quintavalle
Josephine Quintavalle was a pregnancy counsellor for LIFE for 20 years and is the co-founder of Comment on Reproductive Ethics (CORE) in 1994. CORE is a pro-life interest group focusing on ethical dilemmas surrounding human reproduction, particularly the new technologies of assisted conception. Josephine is a regular contributor to media debates and publishes articles on many aspects of assisted reproduction.
Dr Peter Saunders
Peter Saunders trained as a General Surgeon, before serving with the Africa Inland Mission in Kenya and completing two years’ mission training at All Nations Christian College in the UK. Since 1992 he has worked in full-time Christian ministry with the Christian Medical Fellowship, a UK-based organisation with over 4,500 UK doctors and 1,200 medical student members, first as Student Secretary and since 1999 as General Secretary. As CMF's chief executive he is involved in leadership training, teaching evangelism and ethics, medical mission, writing, editing and media work.
Link to some of this week’s media coverage on the Bill
In the press - Legal challenge to hybrid embryos
In the press - Other HFE Bill news
http://www.ccfon.org/media.php?lnTable=27
TV and Radio coverage (Scroll down to see the playlist to pick a clip to view or watch)