Written question asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Darzi of Denham (Labour) on Wednesday, 21 November 2007.

Embryology

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 23 October (WA100-1) regarding relevant paragraphs in the Declaration of Helsinki and guidelines produced by the International Society for Stem Cell Research, whether they will seek to enshrine in primary legislation a simple yet unambiguous prohibition of all such experiments that lack a compelling scientific rationale.

Answer: The United Kingdom is a world leader in stem cell research. This is largely due to the fact that we have legislative regulation which is internationally recognised as supportive, flexible and facilitating. Current legislation and regulation are both in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (paragraph 11) and paragraphs 8.3 and 10.3 of the International Society for Stem Cell Research. Proposals for changes to legislative regulation contained in the recently published Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill will ensure this remains the case.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 73; 696 c78WA
Session: 2007-08
Related items: Embryology
Tuesday, 18 December 2007
Written questions
House of Lords; Embryology
Tuesday, 23 October 2007
Written questions
House of Lords; Embryology
Wednesday, 30 January 2008
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Human embryo experiments Regulation Research Stem cells
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk