Sydney
7 July 2002
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MPs misled on embryos: ethicist
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MPs misled on embryos: ethicist
By Chris Lindsay
State and Federal MPs, including Prime Minister John Howard, have been “chronically misled” into supporting the killing of embryos, says bioethicist Dr John Fleming.
They have been told it will result in the curing of diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
But if embryos are allowed to be killed in the name of stem-cell research, the outcome will be more effective IVF techniques and contraception, not the curing of disease.
Legislation allowing research using human embryos was introduced into parliament during the last day of sittings before the winter recess.
Both sides of Parliament have been given a conscience vote on the legislation, which will be further debated when Parliament resumes.
Dr Fleming, director of the Southern Cross Bioethics Centre in Adelaide, says: “The legislation will allow the experimentation on human embryos for any scientific reason, only one of which is stem cell research.
“The fact is much more research will be done on the embryos in the areas of IVF and contraception than will be done on the stem cells from them. Nothing has so far been developed from embryonic stem cells; nothing.”
When introducing the legislation, Prime Minister Howard said the most contentious parts of the bill involved the destruction of excess IVF embryos, which opponents had called the destruction of human life.
“A fact shaping my view is that at present surplus embryos are disposed of after a set time in storage, in consultation with the donor where possible,” he said.
“I could not find sufficient moral difference between allowing embryos to succumb in this way and destroying them through research that might advance life-saving and life-enhancing therapies.”
Dr Fleming said the argument that embryonic stem cells could be used to cure diseases had been used to soften up the public and a gullible Prime Minister over the use of embryos in research.
“The whole point is to allow researchers to get their hands on embryos for research purposes,” Dr Fleming said.
“Once you have accepted the idea that embryos can be killed in the name of research, then it becomes irrelevant what the research is.”
Dr Fleming said the real intention of supporters of the legislation was to use the embryos to test whether drugs would affect embryos in pregnant women, to train technicians in injecting sperm into eggs, to find better cultures for growing embryos and to develop better contraception techniques, such as a vaccine that prevents development of the embryo.
“It is these areas where the money is,” Dr Fleming said. “With more women waiting until later in life to have children, IVF will be a growing industry.
“If we cross the boundary to allow the killing of embryos to allow stem-cell research, then there are no arguments left to stop the destruction of embryos for other purposes. There is no justification for the destruction of one life for the benefit of another.”
More than 25 Liberal MPs, including Federal ministers Tony Abbott and Nick Minchin, have signed a petition outlining their concerns about embryonic stem-cell experiments.