Romans 1:22-24
Professing themselves
to be wise, (With their Science) they
became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God (In man) into an image made like to corruptible man,
and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping
things. Wherefore God also gave them up (And over for destruction) to uncleanness
through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour
their own bodies (By
altering them male and female, man and beast).
Jude1:10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but
what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt
themselves. Woe unto them! (Cursed be them)
British
scientists will be allowed to research devastating diseases such as Alzheimer’s
and Parkinson’s using human-animal embryos, after the House of Commons tonight
rejected a ban.
An amendment to the Human Fertilisation
and Embryology Bill that would have outlawed the creation of “human admixed
embryos” for medical research was defeated in a free vote by a majority of 160,
preserving what Gordon Brown regards as a central element of the legislation.
The Government, however, is braced for defeat
tomorrow on a separate clause that would scrap the requirement that fertility
clinics consider a child’s “need for a father” before treating patients. MPs
will also tomorrow consider amendments that would cut the legal limit for
abortion from 24 weeks to 22 or 20 weeks.
A second amendment, that would have banned the
creation only of “true hybrids” made by fertilising
an animal egg with human sperm, or vice-versa, was also defeated by a majority
of 63. Another free vote saw MPs backed the use of embryo-screeing
to select “saviour siblings” suitable to donate
umbilical cord blood to sick children, by a majority of 179.
Edward Leigh, Conservative MP for
Gainsborough, moving the amendment to ban all admixed embryos, said mingling
animal and human DNA crossed an “ultimate boundary”. He said that exaggerated
claims were giving patients false hope and that the dangers of the research
were unknown.
He said: "In many ways we are like
children playing with landmines without any concept of the dangers of the
technology that we are handling.”
Mark Simmonds, a
shadow health minister, who moved the amendment to ban “true hybrids”, said
there was no compelling evidence of their research utility.
Evan Harris, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford
West, challenged those who accepted admixed embryos in principle but rejected
“true hybrids” to explain the ethical difference between an embryo that was 99
per cent human and one that was 50 per cent human.
Dawn Primarolo, the
Health Minister, agreed: “Once we go down that road it seems illogical to
oppose a particular mix.” Ms Primarolo said the
shortage of human eggs was the major barrier to embryonic stem cell research.
The minister admitted that the Bill “was not a promise” that cures to diseases
could be found. “It’s an aspiration that it may.”
The amendment to ban all admixed embryos was
defeated by 336 votes to 176. The prohibition on true hybrids was defeated by
286 votes to 223.
The main type of admixed
embryo permitted by the Bill are “cytoplasmic
hybrids” or “cybrids”, made by moving a human nucleus
into an empty animal egg. These are genetically 99.9 per cent human. As well as
true hybrids, it also allows chimeras that combine human and animal cells and
transgenic human embryos that include a little animal DNA.
The most immediate implication of the Commons
vote will be to allow teams at the
Though they were cleared to start these
experiments by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology
Authority in January, these licences would have been
rescinded had MPs voted for a ban.
Both teams are trying to create cybrids, which could carry the DNA of patients with genetic
conditions to create stem-cell models.
The idea is to make stem cell models of
diseases, to study their progress and to test new treatments. Human eggs could
be used, but they are in short supply as they cannot be donated without risk to
women.
It is legal to culture admixed embryos for a
maximum of 14 days but it is illegal to transfer them to a human or animal
womb. A Times/Populus poll found last month that 50
per cent of the public supports this work, with only 30 per cent opposed.
The decision will also encourage a third
team, who plans to use admixed embryos to study motor neuron disease, to apply
for a licence. The group, led by Professor Chris Shaw
of the
Professor Shaw said: “It will allow us to
forge ahead on all fronts in our attempts to understand and develop therapies
for a huge range of currently incurable diseases. Cures may be some years off,
but this vote does mean we can use hybrid embryos, in addition to adult stem
cells, in our search to understand what causes Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and
motor neuron disease. Without a much better understanding of what is going
wrong in the brain it is very unlikely we will be able to reverse the disease
process.”
Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, of the National
Institute for Medical Research in
“This understanding will ultimately give us
the best chance of developing therapies for these diseases, for infertility and
for a range of other medical conditions”.
Simon Denegri,
chief executive of the Association for Medical Research Charities, said: “MPs
have clearly listened to the strong arguments put forward by medical research
charities, patient groups and scientists of the importance of this research to
advancing our understanding of diseases and conditions that affect hundreds of
thousands of people and their families in the
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3964693.ece