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(a) Clause No. 11, amendments to paragraph 3 of Schedule No. 2, remaining proceedings on that Schedule,
(b) New Clause 4, other new Clauses, new Schedules.
(2) The allotted days which under the Order [2nd April] are given to the proceedings in Committee of the whole House shall be allotted in the manner shown in the Table set out below and, subject to the provisions of that Order, each part of the proceedings shall be brought to a conclusion at the time specified in the third column of that Table.
TABLE
Allotted day Proceedings Time for
conclusion of
proceedings
First day Clause No. 11 and Schedule No. 2 11 p.m.
Second day Proceedings on
new Clauses and
new Schedules 11 p.m.
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Orders of the Day
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill
[ First Allotted Day
]
Considered in Committee
[ Mr. Harold Walker
in the Chair ]
The Chairman of Ways and Means (Mr. Harold Walker) : Before I call the Leader of the House to move amendment No. 1, I remind the House that our debate must terminate at 11 pm. Many right hon. and hon. Members wish to take part, so I appeal at the outset for brief speeches.
Clause 11
Licences for treatment, storage and research
Amendment proposed : No. 1, in page 5, line 33, leave out from embryos' to end of line 35.-- [Sir Geoffrey Howe.]
The Chairman : With this it will be convenient for the Committee to consider the following amendments : No. 3, in schedule 2, page 29, line 32, leave out paragraph 3.
No. 2, in schedule 2, page 29, line 24, leave out or 3'. No. 4, in schedule 2, page 30, leave out lines 25 to 27. 4.8 pm
The Secretary of State for Health (Mr. Kenneth Clarke) : Right hon. and hon. Members will be aware that this is an extremely important debate and one of great moment to our society outside the House. The issue which we must decide is whether or not to allow the kind of research being done now on human embryos to continue. It is an issue which requires us to deal with fundamental questions and beliefs about right and wrong. It challenges the House to examine the meaning of terms, such as "human life" and "embryo", and to determine the respect which the embryo should be accorded at its various stages. Because these questions deal with such basic moral issues, many people hold strong but widely differing views and emotions about them. I am sure on the strength of our Second Reading debate that the speeches of right hon. and hon. Members on both sides of the House will fully match the importance and difficulty of the subject. It is incumbent on all of us to examine the issues closely, calmly and rigorously before each of us decides individually through which Division Lobby our conscience leads us.
When, on Second Reading, I stated that the present legislative position in this area was unsatisfactory, the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) who is again present, asked precisely what was unsatisfactory about the present law in relation to embryo research. In short, it is the fact that there is no law on the subject. Researchers may legally undertake any research they wish on human embryos for any purpose they wish. For example, they could attempt to create hybrids between humans and animals or attempt to clone individuals legally. That they are not doing so is thanks to the sense of responsibility of scientists and clinicians and their voluntary adherence to the ethical guidelines laid down by the interim licensing
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authority, which was set up jointly in 1985 by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Medical Research Council. The present position therefore is that embryo research in this country is lawful. The intention of the legislation before us today is to apply new legal constraints to embryo research, either by prohibiting it altogether, or by permitting it in certain closely specified circumstances under a statutory system of licensing and control. This is in addition to the Bill's proposals for control of certain infertility treatments and the storage of gametes and embryos, all of which involve sensitive questions concerning either using or keeping embryos outside the body or the status of any resulting child.In the White Paper "Human Fertilisation and Embryology : A Framework for Legislation", the Government clearly indicated their intention of allowing a free vote on the question of whether or not embryo research should be allowed to continue in this country. When the Bill was introduced in the other place, it contained the significant drafting innovation in that clause 11 contained two mutually exclusive provisions about what would, in future, be lawful. One allowed the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to issue licences for research, as well as for treatment services and the storage of gametes and embryos. The other allowed the authority to issue licences for research and storage purposes only. In the event, their Lordships supported the option in favour of embryo research, and the Bill now before us therefore contains provisions allowing the authority to grant licences for research on human embryos up to 14 days, after the date of conception.
As the Bill comes to us from another place, schedule 2 provides that a licence can authorise the creation of embryos or keeping or using them for research, but only for the research project which is specified in the licence. It also specifies that a licence for research can be issued for an activity only if it appears to the authority to be necessary or desirable for certain purposes. I shall return to those in a moment.
So that hon. and right hon. Members in this House may have the same opportunity of debating and voting freely on this important issue as their Lordships had, my right hon. and learned Friend the Leader of the House has tabled a number of amendments which, if passed, would have the effect of reversing the decision made in the other place. If the amendments were passed, the Bill would provide that the authority could issue licences for treatment services and for the storage of gametes and embryos but not for research. Human embryo research in this country would become unlawful.
Mr. Patrick Cormack (Staffordshire South) : If this House should reverse that decision and if the House of Lords should then adhere to its original decision, would the Government take a line?
Mr. Clarke : I am sure that my hon. Friend would predict that my answer is that we shall cross that bridge if and when we come to it, but today it is important that we know the opinion of this House of Parliament. If there is a conflict between the Houses when both have taken their first vote, there are well-established procedures through which we would attempt to ensure that the matter is resolved.
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Mr. Bowen Wells (Hertford and Stortford) : Will my right hon. and learned Friend make clear what effect the amendments would have? I thought I heard him say that, if we pass the amendments put down by the Leader of the House, human embryology research would have to cease. Is that right?4.15 pm
Mr. Clarke : The research on the human embryo of the kind presently carried out with the approval of the licensing authority would cease. I hope to keep my speech brief, but I may touch on the arguments on the difference between so-called destructive research and therapeutic research. Certainly, research of the sort carried out at present, within the guidelines of the interim authority, would be rendered unlawful if the amendments were passed.
As I made clear on Second Reading, the Government take no collective stance on the rights and wrongs of embryo research. The sole purpose of my right hon. and learned Friend in putting down the amendments is to ensure that the House has the best opportunity to debate the matter fully and a clear and free choice on the important issue of human embryo research.
Mr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow) rose--
Mr. Clarke : I shall give way, but I shall not do so frequently, because if I did I would make a long opening speech. It would not be appropriate to have a long opening Government speech on this debate.
Mr. Dalyell : I appreciate that the Government do not take a collective stance, but is not the House of Commons entitled to hear the professional opinion of the chief medical officer?
Mr. Clarke : The House is entitled to be reminded of some of the key arguments, including those of professional bodies, and I will do so later. The Government's chief medical officer is an adviser to the Government and does not have a policy of his own on these matters. I shall briefly cover the scientific and medical arguments in a balanced way, because, as I said, the Government have no collective stance on the matter.
The first argument, which is not, in itself, particularly medical or scientific, but is central to the debate, is the status which each individual Member will decide, according to his or her own conscience, should rightly be accorded to the embryo. Central to this is the question of when a human comes into existence.
There is a strongly held belief that the egg, at the moment it is penetrated by the sperm, represents the start of human life and should, from that point, be afforded the same status as a child or an adult. For those who hold to that view, the egg in the process of fertilisation and the resulting embryo represent an unborn child, and its existence as a human should be respected from the start of its development at the very start of conception. Those who hold that view argue that an embryo should not be the subject of research any more than a child or adult should.
Others take the view that the moment of penetration of the egg by the sperm does not have this special significance. Even after cell division has started, some 30 hours later, the cells are undifferentiated, so that it is impossible to say which will eventually form the foetus and which will form the placenta and other structures which are discarded at
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birth. Those who hold that view believe that status as an individual can begin only at, or after, the stage where cells differentiate in such a way that those which will become the foetus, or sometimes more than one foetus, can be clearly discerned. Those who take that view consider that research should be permitted until that stage, which coincides with the appearance of the so-called "primitive streak" at 14 days after penetration of the egg. My own opinion is that that, which I have briefly described, is the critical point of the debate. Is the embryo before the emergence of the primitive streak sufficient of a human personality to be protected by the law against the risk of perishing as part of a research programme? There are important further issues about the merits and purpose of research that might be contemplated. However, to those who believe that the embryo is a human when the sperm penetrates the egg, that must be the end of the matter. However worthwhile the research might be claimed to be, it must be wrong to research in the way that people are doing at present.This debate will canvass issues of philosophy, and medical and scientific opinions, but it is essentially an ethical matter, about which we must all make our own judgment. To a certain extent, I am influenced by the fact that my background is that of a lawyer. We are talking about the structure of law that will, or will not, give protection to particular citizens and personalities.
I cannot accept that the early embryo is a human personality with which I can identify as a person and to whom the criminal law must give protection. That is essentially a layman's judgment, as it will be for most hon. Members on both sides of the argument.
I am influenced by the tiny size of the embryo that we are talking about and by the fact that on rare occasions it could develop into more than one person if it developed at all. I am also advised that a high proportion of embryos perish naturally at this stage in any event. I cannot see that this is a very important stage of human development to which we should give the absolute protection as a citizen, although some clearly feel that it should have that protection.
Mr. David Alton (Liverpool, Mossley Hill) : Will the Minister clarify for the benefit of the House whether he believes that, after two weeks' gestation, there is personhood and that from that point on the developing human being is entitled to the full support of the law? As a lawyer, is he saying that for all purposes after two weeks gestation the developing child must be protected?
Mr. Clarke : No, I am certainly not. I shall turn to that subject in a moment. The evolution of a human being and citizen from the potential that arises when sperm and egg are first united is a steady and continuous process, and it is difficult to say at what stage a citizen and human being appears. At various stages, fresh rights are acquired. Inheritance and property rights and so on come much later. However, the 14-day stage--the primitive streak stage--is a logical point beyond which it would be unwise to engage in research. Before that, I do not recognise the unborn child as a citizen that is entitled to absolute protection--
Dame Elaine Kellett-Bowman (Lancaster) : My right hon. and learned Friend has referred twice to the perishing of an embryo, but what the Bill is about is the destruction of embryos, not their natural perishing.
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Mr. Clarke : I do not mind using the word "destruction", although in practice the embryo is sometimes allowed to perish, just as a high proportion of embryos perish naturally at this stage. I accept that the result is that the embryo does not go on to develop into a human being.For the reasons I have given, I am prepared to move on to the next step in the argument, which we must all consider in any event. Is the research worth while in medical and scientific terms? Whatever our views, all hon. Members will agree that the human embryo at this stage must be treated with respect as a potential human being, not just as any other piece of human tissue.
So I turn now to the more detailed arguments for and against research. Most of us have already given a great deal of thought to this, but it is a question of such importance that it is worth looking once more at the central arguments to see whether we have missed anything along the way. I shall endeavour to set them out clearly, drawing on the advice available to me, incuding that of the chief medical officer, to whom the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) referred. I hope to do so in a reasonably balanced way, so as to do the arguments roughly equal justice.
It is necessary for the House to examine the purposes for which reaserch may be carried out and to decide whether they are of sufficient weight to justify the destruction of the embryo. If we approve the purposes, we should all ask ourselves not only whether the research is well intentioned but whether there is a reasonable livelihood that it can achieve its aims ; otherwise, we might find ourselves supporting a vain use of human embryos.
The arguments in favour of embryo research are therefore often practical ones in the case of each project or subject area. Could the benefits accruing from the particular research work that a team has in mind justify the consequential destruction of the embryos? If human embryo research can in principle sometimes be justified for one purpose, that does not and should not mean that we have crossed some sort of rubicon. Those in favour of research accept that we would need an authority to license each team for its research, if permitted. In each case it would decide whether there was a sufficiently important purpose to justify the use of the human embryo in that case.
Those who maintain that research on human embryos can in some circumstances be justified base their contention on the benefits to humanity that such research could be expected to bring. Here, the arguments in favour of research enjoy such distinguished scientific support as is afforded by, for example, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal Society and a wide range of scientific and medical opinion. Such bodies claim that research would provide information to deal with five key areas.
First, research could promote advances in the treatment of infertility. Secondly, it could increase knowledge about the causes of congenital disease. Thirdly, it could increase knowledge about the causes of miscarriages. Fourthly, it could develop more effective techniques of contraception. Finally, it could develop more effective methods for detecting the presence of gene or chromosome abnormalities in embryos before implantation. They are all different, and it is important to consider them briefly one by one.
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The first is infertility. All hon. Members will, like me, have received over the years pleas from people whose hopes for the alleviation of infertility are pinned on a vote in favour of continuing embryo research. The hon. Member for Peckham (Ms. Harman) said on Second Reading that the interim licensing authority has estimated-- correctly, as far as I can judge--that one couple in eight in this country suffers from infertility. Some of them feel that they have to endure a social stigma in admitting their inability to have a child. They often undergo the indignity and undoubted discomfort of infertility treatments, only to have their hopes dashed time after time, when the woman fails to conceive after treatment or has a miscarriage after treatment.Those of us who have not been in that position sometimes find it hard fully to appreciate the misery and the real strain and stress that it causes for such couples. For some, the only hope lies in assisted reproduction methods such as in vitro fertilisation. While the success rate of these techniques has improved considerably since the birth of Louise Brown in 1978, it is still disappointingly low. As I have said, many people suffer the discomfort and disappointment of failed treatment. Many doctors and scientists working in this field believe that further research could improve the success rates--for example, by improving the culture medium or by obtaining a better understanding of the viability of embryos before they are transferred to the uterus.
Those who support embryo research also argue that it will increase our knowledge about the causes of congenital diseases, particularly chromosomal diseases. As a species, we members of homo sapiens suffer the particular misfortune of being especially subject to chromosomal disorders. Some of the abnormalities of this type are thought to develop during the egg's maturation process, and some during the process of fertilisation itself. I am advised that, as yet, there is little information about which occur at which stage.
Scientists and doctors working in this field say that it is necessary to understand something about how and when these abnormalities occur to help them in their work towards further advances in prevention or therapy. This leads them to argue that carefully controlled experiments involving hyman embryos could provide them with the knowledge that might ultimately lead to the prevention of some of these congenital diseases.
Mr. Alistair Burt (Bury, North) : My right hon. and learned Friend describes the process by which the law decides whether to allow a particular form of experiment based on the ends to which it is directed. Can he say how much account is taken of the availability of alternative research that would not involve the destruction of the embryo but would fulfil exactly the same ends?
Mr. Clarke : The interim licensing authority would take heed of that and would be expected to do so. However, there is a division of opinion about the extent to which any success could be achieved without the kind of experiment on human embryos that some people find immoral and offensive. I shall return to that matter. The bodies that I have quoted--the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal Society--and those working in the field are convinced that similar advances
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could not be made without research into the human embryo. I shall come back to that. As I have said, there is a division of opinion, even scientific opinion.Sir Bernard Braine (Castle Point) : There have been such advances.
Mr. Clarke : I am sure that my right hon. Friend will argue that case, as he did on Second Reading.
On another aspect of research, it is also tragic that more than one in five pregnancies in the United Kingdom end in miscarriage. There are about 100,000 miscarriages a year in this country. We all know that miscarriage may cause haemorrhage or infection and that the sufferers may require hospital treatment. Quite apart from that is the distress suffered by the women involved, many of whom suffer repeated miscarriages as they try to have a family.
Some miscarriages seem to occur because the foetus is malformed or defective. However, in many other cases the cause is simply not obvious to those engaged in medical science. Scientists claim that research on embryos has already identified that chromosone abnormalities may also play a part, and I am advised that much more work is needed before all these causes can be identified. The researchers believe that the continuation of controlled embryo research will help to make it possible to understand hitherto unexplained miscarriages and to reduce the possibility of their occurrence.
4.30 pm
The proponents of embryo research argue that it could lead to improved methods of contraception--for example, through the development of a birth control vaccine. Here, we all appreciate that we are entering an area of controversy, because destruction of embryos is inevitable in such research. A birth control vaccine would have to undergo rigorous clinical trials before being approved for use. Because contraceptive failure could possibly result in pregnancy in some cases, even after successful trials, it is considered essential that such vaccines are tested on embryos in vitro. Those who support a contraceptive vaccine--they include myself--argue that it would generally increase choice and lead to safer methods of contraception. Also, in the developing world, the arrival of a birth control vaccine would have even greater benefits because it should be simpler to administer and longer lasting compared with current methods. The World Health Organisation shares and advocates this view. A simpler birth control vaccine which could be administered through family planning programmes could have significant benefits for developing countries in particular, where the rate of population growth is particularly rapid and brings in its train severe economic and social difficulties.
Not all new reproductive technologies are aimed at helping infertile couples to have children. Some are designed to help people to have healthy normal children by allowing a range of congenital diseases and handicaps to be detected prenatally by pre-implantation diagnosis. The possibility of preventing genetic disease is one of the reasons most frequently cited in support of embryo research.
Mrs. Ann Winterton (Congleton) : Does my right hon. and learned Friend recall that I wrote to him last week about claims made in the press by Dr. Robert Winston that, if passed, these amendments would prevent clinical
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pre-implantation of the embryo in the womb? Can my right hon. and learned Friend confirm that schedule 2, paragraph (1)(d) would allow such pre-implantation screening for genetic handicaps to continue even if today we voted for a ban on destructive embryo research?Mr. Clarke : It is not for me to argue for Dr. Winston. My understanding is that he would argue that he could not have got where he is now if he had not been permitted to carry out research of the kind that he wishes to continue carrying out. As I understand it, in these cases, embryos are screened for their sex so that the female embryos can be re- implanted to avoid the disease suffered only by the male. That treatment, now that it is being developed, could be continued if the amendments were agreed to.
However, there is a second area of argument, which may well be canvassed in the debate. Do those who favour such treatment accept that, when the embryos have been sexed, only females should be re-implanted, and the males allowed to perish? In my opinion, and that of those in favour of research and treatment, the answer is yes, but some take the view that in no case should any embryo be dealt with clinically for any purpose unless it is re- implanted.
Sir David Steel (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) : Will the Secretary of State confirm that, if the amendment were passed, the point made to me in a letter this morning by the mother of a child with Duchenne muscular dystrophy is well founded--that, even if the destruction of embryos were disallowed under the Bill, the option of abortion would continue, which would result in the irony that we would allow parents the chance of an abortion later in pregnancy, which is less desirable than allowing interference with the embryo?
Mr. Clarke : That is strongly argued. I appeal to hon. Members on both sides of the House to seek the opportunity to pursue the arguments later, rather than using my speech as a vehicle for them. I feel that the arguments have been neatly balanced on the issue. Certain genetic abnormalities, as the right hon. Gentleman says, can be detected between about eight and 16 weeks' gestation and the affected foetuses aborted if the women so wishes and if the doctors concerned are satisfied that the conditions laid down in the Abortion Act 1967 are met. The ability to diagnose genetic disease within a few days of fertilisation would, researchers argue, alter that by enabling only healthy embryos to be transferred to the uterus. Rapid progress is now being made with the development of these techniques. We have seen recent attention drawn to it by Professor Robert Winston and his colleagues at Hammersmith hospital. The technique that they have developed may now become more widely available as part of IVF treatment. Scientists working in this area argue that further research will open up new possibilities for enabling couples who are known to be carriers of a genetic disease to have an unaffected child of either sex by IVF.
Without the availability of pre-implantation diagnosis, couples are left with three difficult choices, one of which has just been touched upon. If it is not possible to diagnose at the pre-implantation stage, the choice is to accept the substantial risk of having a child with a genetic disease or
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to have ante-natal screening with the possibility of an abortion if the tests show that the foetus is affected. The third option is to remain childless.Much embryo research, including that related to in vitro fertilisation, is carried out on animals ; that was adverted to a few moments ago. Most researchers believe, however, that it is not possible safely to extrapolate the results of studies in animals to the human context. For example, they have shown that human embryos react differently from other mammalian embryos under various conditions. They argue from this that all except the most trivial changes in procedure therefore require research on human embryos to ensure that the standard of safety which must be secured before embryos which have been subject to special procedures are inserted into a women to achieve a pregnancy. Researchers argue that real progress in this area depends on improved understanding of fundamental aspects of human embryology and that such understanding can come safely and ethically only from research involving human embryos.
That leads researchers on to an ethical argument that will certainly be raised during the debate. I agree strongly with those who say that there must be limits to the total non-interventionist approach.
There are those who argue that there can be non-destructive research. I have heard it argued that such research might be permitted, so long as every embryo used is implanted into the womb to restore its prospects of life. I find that difficult to accept, and I cannot conceive that many medical or scientific people would knowingly implant into the womb an embryo that they believed was probably carrying some genetic disorder. I think that the argument cannot be carried to that extent.
Mrs. Ann Winterton : Will my right hon. and learned Friend give way?
Mr. Clarke : No, I shall not give way. I await speeches that will improve my understanding of the argument of those who favour what they call therapeutic rather than destructive research. The case will have to be made with considerable care if it is being said that to allow the embryo to perish in all circumstances is somehow always ethically wrong.
I think that the researchers all say that it would be irresponsible for doctors to replace in the womb fertilised human eggs that had been subjected to novel procedures or tests, for these might themselves lead to abnormality. They say that to use the mother as part of the research, and then to put in an embryo which has been subjected to research and might have been made abnormal by the research, would be unacceptable. They therefore argue that the subsequent development of the embryos should be studied in vitro for several days. If the development of an embryo in vitro is studied for several days after the experiment, that takes one to a time when transfer to a women would no longer be a possibility.
Finally, the supporters of research say that, in the course of nature, many embryos that are created fail to implant in the uterus and perish anyway. They draw an analogy between what happens in nature and embryos that have no prospect of being placed in a uterus and so are bound to perish. As those embryos would not become children--for example, spare embryos produced as a result
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of fertility treatments--they conclude that it is ethically acceptable to carry out carefully controlled research on them. I shall now, in fairness, remind the House of the arguments against embryo research--although I shall do so briefly, as others, inspired by deep conviction, will put the arguments more eloquently than I can.Those opposed to research involving human embryos argue that, although such research might serve to prevent genetic disease or to help infertile couples, in doing so it leads to the destruction of the embryo that is used for research purposes. I accept that opponents of research fully share my sympathy for those affected by genetic disorders and other conditions and that they generally support the value of medical research towards finding effective treatments, but they cannot condone the use of embryos for such purposes. They do not believe that the end can justify the means. They do not accept that the destruction of the embryo justifies the knowledge that might be obtained through its destruction. For many people the human embryo is a living human being ; to use the term used in correspondence to all Members of Parliament, it is an "unborn child". They argue that the same ethical considerations should apply as apply to research on adult human beings. They do not accept that, even if a significant proportion of embryos fail naturally, that in any way justifies carrying out research on any embryo which, in their view, has the potential for development. They draw an analogy with infant mortality, which has been high throughout most of human history, saying that no one would use that as an argument to attempt to justify similar experimentation on new-born babies.
Mr. A. E. P. Duffy (Sheffield, Attercliffe) : The essential test that some hon. Members and I would apply to the Secretary of State's argument is that nothing should be done to an embryo except for its own good.
Mr. Clarke : I understand that that is the argument--that the only treatment or technique that should be applied to an embryo is one that is for the benefit of that embryo. In my opinion, it is difficult to apply that test, especially to those spare embryos that are sometimes produced through infertility treatment and that have no prospect of ever being implanted and therefore no prespect of life. It is my view that the perishing of an embryo that has no prospect of life in the cause of beneficial research is worth while. That is what we shall discuss throughout the day. I was trying, briefly, to do justice to the hon. Gentleman's feelings that all research into embryos is an affront to human life and should not be countenanced in any circumstances, however beneficial they might be.
If accepted, that argument is a complete case in itself, but some opponents go on to areas of great scientific and medical controversy and try to cast doubts, in any event, on the potential value of research that allows the embryo to perish. Opponents of human embryo research, including some scientists and doctors, maintain that improvements in all the areas of medicine mentioned can be achieved without research on human embryos. They assert that many scientific and medical breakthroughs have been achieved which have enhanced our knowledge of some genetic diseases without recourse to embryo research.
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They quote examples like the discovery of the gene that causes cystic fibrosis and argue that there is no reason to believe that progress of that sort will not continue. They also point to the advances that were made in developing kidney transplant surgery in the 1960s, when doctors carried out their research on patients to try to save their lives. They hold the view--which the hon. Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Duffy) expounded--that that approach, which follows more closely the ethical framework in which other medical research is conducted, should also apply to embryo research. Furthermore, they argue that embryo research will not lead to a cure for genetic diseases but only to the prevention of such diseases. That is because any embryo that was found to carry the defective gene would not be transferred but left to perish. For them, it is more acceptable to concentrate on curing genetic disease by, for example, gene therapy.I accept the strength of those arguments and realise that those who put them forward acknowledge the misery that infertility brings to some people, but they argue that, instead of investing so much in what so often turns out to be unsuccessful treatment to overcome the effects of infertility, it would be more constructive within society to investigate, treat and prevent the underlying causes.
Frequently, the strongest opposition to embryo research is directed against the use of embryos to develop new contraceptive methods. Those who share that opinion do not accept that it is necessary or acceptable to add to methods which are already available, and they find it particularly abhorrent that embryos should be used to test the efficiency of their own destruction.
4.45 pm
Many of those who argue against embryo research are also concerned about the so-called "slippery slope" arguments. For example, if research were permitted for the first 14 days, they fear that it would not be long before pressure would begin to mount for research on embryos beyond 14 days because it would produce allegedly beneficial results ; or if pre- implantation diagnosis can be developed to detect sex-linked genetic diseases, it might be used not for medical reasons but merely to ensure that a couple could choose to have a child of a particular sex, or who knows what other allegedly desirable genetic features. Those are only some of the deeply held arguments advanced, by those, from many walks of life, who have reached the conclusion that research on human embryos must, on ethical or religious grounds, be opposed. Some of the dangers that they perceive would be feared by every hon. Member, even if research were permitted. A strong licensing authority and a framework of law are plainly desirable so that our worst fears could never be realised.
I hope that I have fairly presented the basis of the arguments on both sides of the debate, reminded hon. Members of the issues--with some of which we are all familiar--and clarified them. However, I do not think that I should take the arguments very much further. I think that there is a gulf that cannot be bridged between those who cannot, in all conscience, countenance the idea of research on human embryos, and those who believe that, with proper controls and for good purposes, it can be justified. However, there is one small but essential area of common ground--that there is something special about the human embryo. Sadly, that is where the common
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ground ends. At least it ends in an argument that gives rise to a system of licensing control, even if the House decides to allow research.I have never made any secret of my views on this subject, either to my constituents or to the House. The emergence of a human being from the cells that carry a potential life is a continuous process. It begins with sperm and egg, which fuse to become an embryo, which implants in the mother's womb, and so on through a steady and continuous process until a baby is delivered conscious into the world. For me, there is no single moment at which I could easily say that a human life--the life of an individual human being--actually begins. I certainly do not enter into the world of theology, and I confess that I do not have an opinion on when the soul actually enters the emerging human personality.
Perhaps I am somewhat influenced by my background as a lawyer. The law should begin to give full protection of rights to life and limb and so eventually on to family law, property, inheritance and so on at a very much later stage than the emergence of the primitive streak. That stage seems a logical stage at which to give a potential human being protection against being the subject of research. I believe that, as long as embryo research is done openly and within the framework of strict statutory controls such as are laid down in the Bill, the benefits that are held in promise by that research should not be withheld from those who wish to take advantage of them.
In this House we all share a moral duty to respect and protect the sanctity of human life. We also all share a moral duty to alleviate suffering and to fight against disease. In my opinion, a vote in favour of properly regulated research for sound medical reasons is compatible with both those moral duties. I shall therefore vote against the amendments. However, I am genuinely interested in hearing more views on this profound matter during the debate, and I shall respect the final judgment of the House when it makes it tonight.
Ms. Jo Richardson (Barking) : The Secretary of State has a difficult task, and I appreciate his attempts to set out fairly the pros and cons of the arguments that we shall debate today. The House has a serious responsibility in reaching a decision on whether embryo research should be allowed to continue under strictly controlled conditions, overseen by a statutory licensing authority. We are not scientists or doctors and must rely on informed opinions. I am grateful, as I am sure all right hon. and hon. Members are, for the information that has landed in enormous quantities on our desks. It has come from the Royal Society of Medicine, the royal colleges and the interim licensing authority--which has done a fine job of regulating research so far. Information has also come from people involved in the research itself. We are all better informed than we were even two weeks ago, and certainly more informed than we were one or two years ago.
No right hon. or hon. Member could fail to be impressed by the representations made by the large number of genetic interest groups individually and under the umbrella of the Genetic Interest Group, which comprises 36 organisations--all of which have a direct concern in the outcome of tonight's vote. Representations have also been made--at least to me--by women's organisations. I was pleased to find on my desk only this morning a letter from the Townswomen's Guild.
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I am grateful for the representations that I have received from people, including doctors and scientists, who know of my strong position in favour of embryo research. From reading all that material, it is clear that a number of myths have been created--the Secretary of State referred to some of them. They need refuting, and later I shall do so.First, I want to discuss the chronology of human development. The right hon. and learned Gentleman gave his views on that aspect, and I shall do so in the context of the outline provided by the Medical Research Council. There has been much discussion in past weeks, months and years on the terminology used to describe the development of the embryo. Some argue that it is wrong to talk about pre-embryos. Now that we have had an opportunity to study the subject more deeply, it is important to differentiate between the stages of embryo development.
There are three in all. The first, pre-embryo, stage covers the 14 days before the primitive streak emerges, and beyond which time no further research will be allowed. At 14 days, the pre-embryo measures about 1 mm. The primitive streak marks the beginning of individual development, as the Secretary of State said. Dr. Ann MacLaren, in her paper for the April 1990 issue of the journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, states that it is the point at which development is "literally undividable." It marks the formation of the individual embryo that will develop into a foetus and then into a baby. No research will be allowed beyond that 14-day stage.
One is talking of a cluster of cells that may not develop into an embryo. If all goes well, the primitive streak will develop. However, in a large number of cases it does not and no embryo forms. If a pre-embryo is implanted, it coincides with the time that a women would have started her next period. I make the division between pre-embryo and embryo, and between embryo and foetus, because it is important to be clear. The embryo develops from 15 days to eight weeks, when it is 30 mm in size, and into a foetus at nine weeks. It becomes a baby at 40 weeks.
Many people claim that the 14-day limit is arbitrary, but it is not. It marks a well-known chronological event, which is why the Warnock committee chose it. It did not pluck that limit out of the air, saying, "We must pick a number--14 days will do." It represents a particular stage in the chronology of the development of a human being.
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