A new poll has found that the Conservative Party risks losing votes if it presses ahead with plans to introduce a new IVF technique that will result in the creation of children with three parents.
The ComRes Poll, commissioned by the Christian Institute, found that more than a quarter (27 per cent) of those surveyed said that the proposals would make them less likely to vote Tory. Only 3 per cent said that the plans would make them more likely to support the Conservative Party.
Free vote
Ministers are set to give MPs a free vote on the issue, which means they will be permitted to vote according to their conscience as opposed to being required to follow party lines.
The Department of Health recently published draft guidelines setting out the details of the proposals which, if adopted, will make Britain the first country in the world to create children with three, instead of two genetic parents.
The poll also found that nearly a third of those who voted Tory in 2010 said that the plans would make them less likely to vote Conservative in the next General Election.
Concerns
The move was strongly criticised by MPs during a recent Westminster Hall debate, with concerns being raised that the technique was a “multi-generational experiment with the lives of people” that will lead to the creation of “genetically modified children”.
Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration also expressed concerns that the technique could result in gene manipulation, and that there was not enough preclinical data on how the procedure could be performed safely.
More than 30 members of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Group signed a Written Declaration stating that the technique was a eugenic practice that was “incompatible with international law and human dignity”.
The technique – known as mitochondria replacement therapy – involves transferring both parents’ DNA into a donor egg.
“Regrettable”
Dr Peter Saunders of the Christian Medical Fellowship said: “It is deeply regrettable that the government intends to press on recklessly with this controversial technology in real patients in the face of genuine concerns about safety, effectiveness and ethics which have so far prevented its implementation anywhere else in the world.
"In many countries around and the world, and by commentators from both secular and faith based scientific backgrounds, Britain is viewed as a rogue state in this area of research.
"The Government gave an assurance in 2009 that regulations to allow treatment would not be made until any proposed techniques were considered to be effective and safe for use in treatment.
"It has still to deliver on this undertaking.”
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Related stories:
UK Government issues draft regulations on 3-parent babies
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly opposes three parent IVF
Former IVF baby warns of "three parent" IVF dangers