MEDICAL LAW

Medical Law

Medical Law

Introduction

After 25 years of genetic engineering of plants and animals, scientists are now ready to take the ultimate step: the genetic modification of human embryos, as the first step towards the creation of GM babies. For many years a furious debate has raged in bioethical and activist circles about the possibility of Human Genetic Modification (HGM) for good reason, because all sides acknowledge that it would be a momentous step, the point when humans begin to direct their own evolution.

The British Government has introduced provisions in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill (HFE Bill), which is about to be voted upon by Parliament, which would allow scientists to genetically modify human embryos. This is an extremely serious situation, which is unfortunately received very little public attention. It is it is the first time that any country has officially sanctioned genetic engineering of human embryos. The worldwide concern about human genetic modification (HGM) is because it is by far the most powerful technology for manipulating the characteristics of human beings. It raises huge concerns about eugenics and the treatment of human embryos and children as commodities (see part 2 below)

Part 1: the current proposals

In the Consultation document preceding the HFE Bill, the Government stated openly that its aim was to allow the development of safe technologies for HGM, and cited the Science and Technology Committee's 2005 recommendation in favour of this. (At present HGM would not be a safe technology, since existing techniques of genetic modification disrupt the embryo's chromosomes, leading to animals with congenital deformities. Such techniques could not ethically be used in humans.) Although the Bill retains the existing ban on implantation of such embryos, this is not reassuring, since the Government is refusing to state clearly that the creation of GM children would be ethically wrong.

(HGA asked for a clear statement about this in a letter to Dawn Primarolo, but the Government response failed to state clearly that HGM is wrong.) It would certainly be illogical, wrong and a waste of tax payer's money to begin research on something which you intended to remain permanently illegal we assume, for example that the Government would not wish to allow research on developing technology for human cloning.

The Government would like to present the decision to begin research as minor, given the safeguard against creating GM babies for the present. It would be naïve, however, to believe that research is, in itself, harmless. The creation of GM babies is not just a hypothetical scenario:

leading British scientists, such as Robert Winston and Ian Wilmut, have already patented techniques for doing this, including patenting human semen and embryos (see box 4).

Clearly, what is planned is a normal process of technology development followed by eventual legalisation. In fact, the Government initially proposed to take the momentous step of legalising GM children by way of regulations, without even the Parliamentary and public debate attendant upon primary legislation change! Once we start down this path, it will be very hard to turn ...