Embryology

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill is getting its first airing. The bill proposes permitting human/animal mix embryos. The idea is that they mix the genes of humans and, say, moles, creating a man/mole creature, mess around with it and then destroy it.

The Roman Catholic Church is against it, although I have heard nothing about the Church of England’s position on the matter. Its website says ’Research using human embryos donated by IVF patients.... is acceptable but using human embryos created specifically for research from donated eggs and sperm is not.’ Which would seem to suggest it is against the bill but not against the general idea of making and killing embryos. I will try to find out but they don’t answer the phone on Good Friday.

Most astonishing is that the government will not allow a free vote of its MPs. Surely if there is one thing that is a matter of conscience it is this. I find it incredible that Gordon Brown (who always wants to portray himself as a son of the Manse, with a moral compass) not only should feel that this legislation is OK, but should be so insensitive as to think nobody else’s views matter. Labour MPs are thus reduced to mere political fodder: they are being told that they are not there to represent their constituencies, they are not there because they are deemed to be people to whom the governance of the nation should be entrusted, they are just robots who do as they are told. For all their scope for free thinking they might be half mole already.

For myself, and many others, this is not really a religious matter, and I hope it will not be portrayed as religious, despite the fact that the Church of Rome is leading the opposition. For many of us who have looked at this on humanitarian grounds, life begins at conception. For us there is no moral difference between killing a 14 day old foetus (they say the procedure is OK because they will kill them all when they are two weeks old) and a 14 day old, or 14 year old born child. All, in my view, are equally wrong.

I don’t mind people thinking differently, but I do object to the government thinking its MPs shouldn’t be allowed an opinion on this.

It goes without saying that I hope any MP who does think this is wrong will vote against it, despite the views of their party, particularly those who like Ruth Kelly make a publicity issue of their beliefs.