MPs call for embryo screening rethink
Parents should be allowed to choose the sex of their babies under new plans recommended by MPs.
The Science and Technology select committee argues that parents should hold greater sway over the sensitive issues of embryo screening and selection.
In a report they call for regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (Hfea), to be replaced with a scaled-down body called the Regulatory Agency for Fertility and Tissues.
The report also makes the case for the establishment of a cross-party joint parliamentary bio-ethics committee – comprised of peers – to scrutinise new fertility laws.
The committee looked at how best to balance both the needs of the child and parents and opted for more choice on so-called “designer” babies.
Half of the MPs on the cross-party committee decided parents should be given the freedom to choose the sex of their children and ensure there are no genetic deformities.
But the other half refused to put their names to the final report.
On of those to refuse, Dr Robert Spink, Conservative MP for Castle Point, said the report was “completely wrong” – “so ridiculous you couldn’t make it up”.
“It flies in the face of the evidence we received,” he said.
Geraldine Smith, Labour MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, described the report as “outrageous” and of “Frankenstein” proportions.
“It was always going to be controversial, but to adopt such an extreme, libertarian view is biased and is asking for trouble.”
The five dissident MPs – Paul Farrelly, Kate Hoey, Tony McWalter, Mrs Smith and Dr Spink – said the report was “unbalanced, light on ethics, goes too far in the direction of deregulation and is too dismissive of public opinion and much of the evidence”.
They call for a radical redrafting to place ethics and regulation back at the heart of the debate.
