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Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill

Once we start arguing about when the human personality acquires a soul or when it becomes recognisable as such—personally, I would not get involved in debating that—there is great difficulty. I understand that a majority on General Synod of the Church of England have confirmed that they do not regard the fertilised embryo in the first 14 days as a human personality deserving of the complete protection of the criminal and civil law. I respect the Roman Catholic view, but I do not believe that every Roman Catholic shares it. The House needs to establish a consensus. Briefly, with inter-species embryos, we go beyond the theology and get into people's strangely uneasy, but almost superstitious views about where we are. We always had the hamster test in the past, and people have already talked about the cow's egg with the human skin tissue in the centre—