Under intense pressure from the Catholic Church and others, Prime Minister Gordon Brown is allowing a free vote on the notorious embryo bill, that we first discussed the here at SHS a few days ago. From the story: Mr Brown agreed to let Labour MPs vote according to—conscience, rather than the party whip, on the three most controversial clauses of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. These involve creating animal-human embryos for medical research before discarding them; removing the requirement for a father in IVF treatment, thus opening the way for more single women and lesbians to have children; and so-called ‘saviour siblings’, where a child with the correct tissue match is created to save a sick brother or sister.
I was asked to comment on the bill by a UK advocacy group opposed to many of the bill’s provisions. Here is what I said: The United Kingdom is in danger of becoming “Brave New Britain.” Heedless of the intrinsic value of human life, swooning for the siren song of “CURES! CURES! CURES” the government apparently believes that scientists should have a blank check—both ethically and financially. But proper ethics are crucial to excellence in science. A science sector that treats human life—even at its nascent stages—as mere malleable clay or akin to a corn crop ripe for the harvest, will be likely to also lose respect for human life at other stages of existence. We tempt the whirl wind when we permit the creation of human/animal hybrid embryos. We objectify procreation when we accede to creating new babies to be used for body parts. Some might say, so what—if the body part baby is also a wanted baby in his or her own right. But what if the baby is not wanted, but only created for his or her parts? What then?
Don’t know what, if any of that, will be used publicly.
The crucial point upon which to focus is that we can progress as a world society into the biotech century without sacrificing human dignity. We can achieve proper treatments without instrumentalizing the most vulnerable among us or eschewing the equality of human life ethic for a dystopian utilitarianism. It is the wise government that promotes science, indeed lauds it—but wiser still is the government that also always ensures that proper checks and balances are placed around this most powerful enterprise.
The current embryo bill utterly fails in this crucial task. It is my great hope that the government will agree to substantial amendments. If not, it should be defeated.
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