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Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL]

As the noble Lord, Lord Patel, has informed us, the HFEA currently has the power to issue licences for four types of activities: for treatment, for non-medical fertility services, for storage and for research. The Bill does not change this. Amendments Nos. 25, 26 and 49, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Patel, would however extend the remit of the HFEA. It would enable it to license the creation and use of embryos for therapy. For instance, it could, as the noble Lord described, be used to derive personalised stem cells from embryos created for that specific purpose. It is important to distinguish that from the use of embryos in a research project, for instance, that seeks to understand how stem cells work. That is rightly within the remit of the HFEA. However, to provide for embryos to be created specifically for treatment or therapy that is not connected in any way to infertility or is part of a research project would be a highly significant development in the use of embryos. It would require very careful consideration. It is a step that the Government are not convinced should be taken in the Bill. The HFEA’s scope to issue treatment licences is restricted to treatment to help a woman to have a child. Most people would agree that that is a right and proper use of embryos. It recognises the special status of the embryo and acknowledges concerns that embryos should not be created for inappropriate purposes. The use of embryos in research—subject to the research being necessary or desirable for a specific purpose, and the use of embryos for the research being necessary—is also a well established principle within the 1990 Act. The scope could extend to embryos being created and used for therapy in limited circumstances under clinical trials as part of the research licences. However, the introduction of a new type of licence that would allow embryos to be routinely created for therapy if the use of embryos for the therapy was considered to be necessary, is an issue of a different order of magnitude altogether. The noble Lord, Lord Walton, asked whether the Bill fulfils the purpose of the 2001 research purposes regulations. Yes, the Bill incorporates and builds on the research purposes as amended by the 2001 regulations. The list of research purposes is found in Schedule 2(6). I note the exciting advancement cited by the noble Lord, Lord Patel, and his strong belief that his amendment is necessary to help us remain at the forefront of research. However, it clearly raises fundamental questions about the limits that should be placed on the use of embryos. It raises questions about whether the approval of such use of embryos should still lie with the HFEA or whether, as a medicinal product, it would be more appropriate for, for example, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to oversee this. It raises questions about making detailed provision in the Bill for a major technological development that may yet be some time away. The Government regard this as a highly important issue about the future use of embryos which requires full and informed debate. It may be appropriate to have that debate once the potential benefits of the therapeutic use of embryonic stem cells are closer to being realised. I therefore ask the noble Lord to reconsider his amendment.