varoblog

(sz) Eighteen years ago, IVF was still considered a novelty. The research on which it depended was difficult and, controversially, involved the destruction of human embryos. So it was hardly surprising that the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, which covered the research and clinical practice, reached the statute book by the skin of the teeth of those, such as myself, who pushed it through.
Science and society have moved a long way since, with IVF more or less accepted. Human embryos are used to create human cell-lines, with the ultimate goal of treating diseases as well as remedying infertility. So now, in the House of Lords, we are in the process of revising and updating the act. Yet the old objections remain, alongside many new ones. Against this background, an amendment has been proposed, to be discussed at the report stage of the bill on Tuesday, to set up a national human bioethics commission. more…

From: »The Guardian Unlimited« (Comment)

This entry was posted on Friday, January 18th, 2008 at 08:00 by Stephan Zapf and is filed under General, Industry, Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.