Human embryology bill (In England)

[andyredeemed]

Have any of you lot heard about this? I'd appreciate your prayers that the Government is defeated in this. You can read up the issues from a n impartial scource at http://WWW.telegraph.co.uk, search for Human embryology bill. My American brethren, forgive me. I used to think America was the most cynical and callous nation on earth, I now realise that it's actually good old Great (sic) Britain. Can I emigrate?

[Canuckster1127]

I think I have heard something about it. Is this the movement by scientists to argue that genetic engineering experimentation involving the crossing or mixing of animals with humans is not unethical and should be allowed?

[andyredeemed]

Yeah, that's part of it. It also includes (or rather, it excludes) the concept of a father, so that if, for instance, a lesbian couple decided to have a child by artificial insemination of donor sperm, both women would be registered as the legal parents, with no reference to the donor father. Another part of it clears the way for "saviour siblings" to be genetically selected at the embryo stage for "serious conditions", although there is no further definition of what that actually means, therefore leaving the field pretty much free. The Government is also pushing the whole ebryonic stem cell research thing. Now I'm not a scientist, and I'm not trained to debate ethics, but this seems a bit, well, sick. The witness of my spirit, or the Spirit within me, if you prefer, is not at all at ease with this kind of thing. Into the mixture, the Prime Minister has had to be forced into a position where he will allow a free vote on the bill, until yesterday it was going to be forced through parliment. It took a threatened rebellion by twelve Catholic ministers to make him change his mind and allow MP's to vote with their concience.