| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
12.16 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Mr. John Horam): We are all extremely grateful to the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (Mr. Ashton) for initiating this debate so early in the new Session. These are important matters and it is right that they should be debated in Parliament. I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on the moving and thoughtful way in which he put the case for his constituent.
I should like first to remind the House of the framework within which the authority and clinicians have to operate. Fourteen years ago, in 1982, in the light of concerns about techniques such as in vitro fertilisation and the use of human embryos for research, the Government asked Baroness Warnock, as she now is, to chair a committee of inquiry. The committee's recommendations were published in 1984. There followed a consultation period. In 1986 the Government issued a consultation paper and, a year later, a White Paper which formed the basis for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. That Act contains important provisions on research on embryos, on the welfare and legal status of children born following the provision of relevant treatment, on the need for those providing gametes, eggs or sperm to consent to their use in particular circumstances, and on the establishment of the HFEA to regulate the whole system.
There has been a remarkable amount of public consultation over many years. The legislation was passed on a free vote after lengthy debate in both Houses. It was the first such comprehensive piece of legislation in the world, and it provides the parameters within which the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority operates. The authority's role is to regulate the activities of treatment and research centres, to promote good practice and to provide information and advice. The authority is fully accountable to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State who, in turn, is answerable to Parliament for all matters concerning the authority. It produces an annual report which is placed before the House, as well as a code of practice to guide those offering and providing treatment. Like all such bodies, the authority is subject to review every five years.
In recent months much attention has been directed to individual cases. I can deal only with the issues that they raise and the broader framework within which decisions can be taken. Like other right hon. and hon. Members, I recognise the human side of such cases as well as the emotion that is integral to them and which they generate more widely. However, as I have said, Parliament decided that there was not to be a free-for-all in these matters, so there must be rules which must be observed by those to whom they apply. Sadly, at times, wherever the line is drawn it will result in some hard cases.
The hon. Member for Bassetlaw spoke about the case of his constituent, Mrs. Diane Blood, who wishes to be inseminated with her late husband's sperm. The president of the Family Division has described this as
There are some general issues that have been widely commented upon over the past couple of weeks and which we should cover. Some of them have been dealt with during the debate. First, Parliament decided in 1990 that written consent must be provided before eggs or sperm--or, for that matter, embryos--may be stored or used for treatment or research. The notion of consent goes to the heart of the legislation and featured prominently in the Warnock report which preceded the Act. As with the storage or use of embryos, consent is not something that can simply be waived. It is a statutory requirement. I confirm that to my hon. Friend the Member for Batley and Spen (Mrs. Peacock) who raised that matter. It is a statutory requirement under the Act as passed by Parliament.
Secondly, the 1990 Act enabled the HFEA to specify in directions the conditions and circumstances under which gametes may be exported abroad. Accordingly, in 1991, the authority issued general directions which permitted the export of eggs and sperm where written consent had been given. By the same token, it prohibited such export if the gametes could not be used for the intended purpose in the United Kingdom. Otherwise, of course, the regulation that exists in this country could simply be circumvented by removing the gametes to another jurisdiction. So once again, on the question of export, consent is a fundamental issue.
Consent is fundamental to all medical interventions. There are many issues to be considered by those embarking upon assisted conception, including the welfare of the new child as well as that of any existing children--although there are no existing children in this case. Also, we all respect--and must respect--the right of the individual to determine what, if anything, is to become of his or her genetic material. It is not for the HFEA to try to second-guess the wishes of any patient in that regard.
Even where consent is obtained, the welfare of the child must be considered. Paragraph 4.4 of the Warnock report said:
As the hon. Member for Dulwich conceded, the HFEA has behaved sympathetically in the case of storing the sperm. She recounted the telephone conversation that took place. It would be wrong to say that the HFEA has been unsympathetic. I know that it would wish to be sympathetic and to give full consideration to the circumstances in which Mrs. Blood finds herself. Therefore, it decided last Thursday to give further consideration to one aspect of the case, which is whether the gametes could be exported. Accordingly, I understand that Mrs. Blood, through her solicitors, has been asked if she wishes to place any additional material before the authority. I can assure the hon. Member for Bassetlaw that that will happen.
Mr. Ashton:
May I press the Minister on that? It is a welcome assurance but Mrs. Blood is now having to decide whether to go to the Court of Appeal, virtually this afternoon. That assurance is a sympathetic assurance in that the authority will look kindly towards the export of the sperm. However, is the Minister saying that there is no way in which the Government will provide the House with an opportunity to alter the law in the near future?
Mr. Horam:
I was about to come to that point. Suggestions have been made by the hon. Members for Bassetlaw and for Dulwich and others that the law should be amended to allow variation of circumstances and greater discretion in order to take into account evolving medical developments. This is genuine free-vote territory and it is for the House to determine whether it wishes to go down that route. If, in due course, it wishes to do so--it would take time--my advice would be for the House to ensure that it is in a position to take a genuinely balanced view of all the implications.
The present legislation was passed after substantial public and parliamentary debate and is carefully drawn. It is therefore not an area in which either policy or legislation should be tinkered with on the spur of the moment. I have listened carefully to the points made by hon. Members today and I have noted carefully the views expressed on both sides of the argument over the past few weeks.
Mr. Michael Alison (Selby):
Will my hon. Friend comment on another aspect of the post-natal well-being of the child, since the interests of the child are paramount? There is an allegation that not enough is being done to gather data about how the so-called test-tube babies get on later in life and the extent to which they are exposed to the risk of suffering from a late congenital disorder that they contracted via IVF. Those are important issues and, as I understand it, no monitoring is being undertaken.
"a most anxious and moving case".
That point was made also by the hon. Member for Dulwich (Ms Jowell). I concur totally with the feelings of the hon. Lady and the president on this matter. We have all admired Mrs. Blood's courage and determination and have great sympathy for her. I understand that Mrs. Blood has been granted leave to appeal, should she wish to take
it, against the recent High Court judgment, so although she has decided to abandon her anonymity I must avoid going into too much detail.
"The majority view expressed to us however, saw AIH (artificial insemination by husband) as an acceptable form of treatment, where clinically indicated. We see no moral objection to its practice. We believe that where there is the intention to bring about the birth of a child and this takes place within the context of a stable relationship, such intervention is acceptable. It is simply a means of bringing together the sperm and egg of a husband and wife so that fertilisation can take place in vivo. Nevertheless we have grave misgivings about AIH in one type of situation. A man who has placed semen in a semen bank may die and his widow may then seek to be inseminated . . . This may give rise to profound psychological problems for the child and the mother."
In paragraph 10.9 the report says:
"The use by a widow of her dead husband's semen for AIH is a practice which we feel should be actively discouraged."
Professor Michael Hull, professor of reproductive medicine and surgery at Bristol university, commented on the case of Mrs. Blood in a letter to The Times on 24 October. He said:
"The fundamental ethical concern in all fertility treatment must be for the welfare of the offspring . . . Is the fact that children are born fatherless due to accident reason enough to allow treatment which plans such an outcome? Is our society ready to abandon its foundation on the traditional family?"
30 Oct 1996 : Column 605
All those concerned in this case should take that to heart.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |