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Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL]

My Lords, I hope that paramount in the Minister’s answer will be the question of the safety of these techniques. It is very important to understand that the maturation of a gamete which has been artificially derived is a very complex procedure. It requires careful maturing of different events within the egg cell or the sperm cell. It has to ensure that the chromosomes are correct. It has to ensure that all the genes are expressing in a normal way. None of us wants to assume that this technique is going to be rapidly here. It is excellent that it is on the statute book but I hope that the Government will recognise that this has potential risks for the unborn child which need to be taken into consideration at whatever stage this technology is finally introduced. In my view, a huge amount of animal work will be needed before one can contemplate this procedure going to the human embryo.