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Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL]

I support the noble Lord, Lord Alton, in Amendment No. 6. As he said, the creation of interspecies embryos is a step too far. The noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries of Pentregarth, encouraged us to pursue research, but most countries have not formed specific legislation to cover the creation of human-animal hybrids for research. Many countries in Europe already prohibit the creation of human embryos for research, in line with the European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine. That means that we are already out of line with Europe. Surely we need to align ourselves with European thinking rather than the more permissive countries such as China, Japan and South Korea? I will mention the results of two recent pieces of public research on this issue. The Joint Committee had an online survey in June 2007 with 153 responses, and only one person suggested that the regulatory authority should license interspecies research. Secondly, in July 2007 a public opinion poll was conducted with 2,073 people, and only 7 per cent said that they knew a lot about using human embryos in research and 9 per cent had never heard of it. That suggests that not a great deal is generally known about the subject among the general public. The summary of responses to the scientific consultation gave the general view of organisations that there is currently no reason why scientists would want to create human transgenic embryos, true hybrids or human chimera embryos. The lack of human eggs should not be used as a justification for embarking on this unethical research. All avenues of research should not be open; only ethical avenues should be pursued. The Joint Committee recognised that the Bill lacked an ethical framework. The Bill would allow for the unnecessary licensing of these hybrids. The initial reaction to such matters is often referred to as the ““yuck factor””. Should we not rely on that basic human response to show that this research is both ethically and morally concerning and is indeed wrong? It removes any respect for human dignity and it crosses the human-animal species barrier. No consideration seems to have been given to biosecurity issues in relation to interspecies viruses. Are those who are experts in stem cell embryology also experts in such issues? It has been suggested that animal eggs from abattoir material could be used, but in any event that research is repugnant; it should be prohibited rather than allowed. I urge noble Lords to ban such scientific experiments; we need to retrace our steps to align ourselves with European countries rather than embark on even more unethical research.