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Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL]

My Lords, I draw the attention of the House to one point in Amendment No. 26. I listened with great interest to the noble Baroness, Lady Knight of Collingtree, as I always do. We very rarely agree on these matters but I always like to listen to the points that she makes because they are important. In her analysis of the amendment, she did not reach proposed new sub-paragraph (6), which states: "““Condition E is that there are reasonable grounds for believing that research of comparable effectiveness cannot be carried out if the project of research for which the human cells, embryos or human admixed embryos are stored or used has to be confined to, or relate only to, persons who have capacity to consent to it””." This is principally about research into childhood diseases which are so severe that the children never make it to adulthood. That is why this is such an important amendment. The noble Lord, Lord Walton, has spoken to us on previous occasions, giving examples. I want to make that point because I think that this afternoon we are in danger of giving the impression that only those on one side of the argument are approaching this matter with a concern for children in particular. That is not so; this is a set of circumstances where one would wish to take what I believe are now the main tenets of the Mental Capacity Act and apply them to this form of research.