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Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL]

Although I agree that, in recent times, the use of intercytoplasmic sperm injection has reduced the need for this type of assessment in clinics, it is still useful methodology by which a sperm’s ability to penetrate an egg can be properly assessed without the use of human eggs. I am not aware of the exact number of applications, but would be more than happy to put that in writing. It is important, however, that those working in the treatment of infertility maintain the ability to carry out this test if they so wish. Amendment No. 42 removes from the Bill the HFEA’s ability to license the storage of interspecies embryos created for research. I have made clear our intentions to permit the creation and use of interspecies embryos in research. This paragraph gives the HFEA the ability to permit the storage of interspecies embryos, which is important for researchers carrying out their day-to-day activity, and vital in creating a complete framework in the regulation for research involving interspecies embryos. On Amendment No. 45, before the HFEA may license research using human embryos under the 1990 Act it must make a judgment that the use of embryos in that specific project of research is necessary. The Bill is proposed to expand this test to research projects involving interspecies embryos, and rightly so. Interspecies embryos should not be used for research lightly or without necessity, so amendments to the 1990 Act made by the Bill must stay in place. I therefore invite the noble Lord, Lord Alton, not to move that amendment. The power provided in new paragraph 3(5) to permit the HFEA to grant research licences to create, keep and use new forms of interspecies embryo is valuable in ensuring that the Act can remain robust following developments in science and technology. This licensing ability of the HFEA regarding these new forms of embryo may, however, be limited by the Secretary of State when any regulation is made. However, power can further limit the scope of what can be licensed by the HFEA regarding these types of embryos. Amendment No. 47 would remove the power proposed for the Secretary of State to limit the licensing by the HFEA of research involving new forms of interspecies embryo. This power is important, as it allows limits to be placed on what can be licensed if any new forms of interspecies embryos are defined in the future. Parliament’s agreement would, however, be necessary as the regulations are subject to affirmative resolution, as I mentioned earlier. This power gives the opportunity to place tougher restrictions, if necessary, on the use of any interspecies embryos appropriate to their qualities and characteristics. This is particularly important if their use could be both scientifically beneficial for one purpose and detrimental for another. On Amendment No. 48, the inclusion of interspecies research in new paragraph 3(9) of Schedule 2 to the 1990 Act ensures that the HFEA, when licensing interspecies embryo research, has the ability to make suitable restrictions on the terms of licence. The HFEA has had the ability to do this in relation to embryo research licences since 1990, and it is right that this power is extended to enable the HFEA to provide similar restriction on interspecies embryo research should it need to. On Amendment No. 61, tabled by the noble Earl, Lord Howe, we have proposed the same level of regulation and control on the use of interspecies embryos and research throughout the Bill as we have on the regulation and control of human embryos. The principles of the 1990 Act have worked well, where the often difficult decisions regarding appropriate licensing of embryo research are made by the specialist regulator, the HFEA. The importance of embryo research for the public good, the likelihood of the research in question yielding a useful result and the respect for how necessary the use of interspecies embryos is in that research are all measures by which its necessity can be judged. We have proposed that the use of human or interspecies embryos in research must always satisfy the criterion necessary for that research project, as highlighted by the noble Earl, Lord Howe, and that the decision on the necessity must be made by the specialist regulator, which has access to all the available scientific data and the information required to make sound decisions on each licence application. In addition, as set out in the 1990 Act and the 2002 research purposes regulations, the research must also be necessary or desirable for a number of specific areas of research, such as the understanding or treatment of disease. The licensing principles are the same today as they were in 1990, and the HFEA has done an excellent job of licensing research since then. I see no reason to treat the licensing of interspecies embryo research any differently from how we have treated licensing of human embryo research in the past. I invite the noble Lord, Lord Alton, to withdraw his amendment.