AP
MPs and members of the public have been voicing their concerns about the proposed creation of 'three parent' embryos, which the Government is said to want to push through parliament this autumn.
Earlier this year the Government published proposals to move ahead with 'three parent' embryos, despite the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority stating that more research is required before steps are taken.
Campaigners are concerned that the effects of the procedures on the babies produced are being ignored, as well as the fact that the proposed legislation will be in a format that will have weaker scrutiny than usual.
In a debate this week, Conservative MP Fiona Bruce told the House of Commons that there was scientific evidence of chromosomal abnormalities in embryos produced by this technique, and that the UK Government should not approve it until further research had been carried out. The issue relates to the transfer of DNA into an embryo from a different person's mitochondria, the energy factories of human cells.
"Two peer-reviewed articles in Nature have suggested that mitochondrial transfer is inherently risky, one of them citing a figure of 52 per cent of embryos created through MST having chromosomal abnormalities," she told the House of Commons. "More research ought to be undertaken and a full assessment conducted of the potential risk to children born as a result."
There are fears that the proposals could open the door to further genetic engineering of human beings. "Monday's debate was about safety, but there are other Christian concerns that extend beyond safety, and relate to the ethics of what's being proposed," Christian charity CARE spokesman Dan Boucher told Christian Today. "Britain would be the first country in the world to allow this procedure, which involves the deliberate genetic engineering of a human. Because of this considerable opposition has been expressed not just in this country but also abroad."
Other MPs who spoke against the proposals were Labour MP Robert Flello, Tory David Burrowes and Labour MP Jim Dobbin.
As well as the politicians and Christian groups who are against the draft legislation, it appears that the public are increasingly opposed to the idea too. A ComRes poll commissioned by CARE found that fewer than one in five people support the creation of three parent babies. This was a significant drop compared to a poll earlier in the year.
"There has been a dramatic shift from wafer thin support in February to clear opposition in August, with just 18 per cent now in favour compared to as much as 55 per cent against," said Labour MP Flello, who was a co-sponsor of the debate.
More:
Opposition to 'three parent' babies grows
- Embryology Part 2 - Video - January 2nd, 2013 [January 2nd, 2013]
- Copy of INTRO TO HUMAN EMBRYOLOGY; PART 1 by Professor Fink - Video - February 1st, 2013 [February 1st, 2013]
- 14- The development of the vascular system - Video - January 23rd, 2014 [January 23rd, 2014]
- IVF treatment for single women DOUBLES as they give up search for Mr Right and go it alone instead - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Embryology - New World Encyclopedia - Info:Main Page - New ... - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Embryology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- The Proof That Islam Is The Truth 07 Embryology - Video - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Does germ plasm accelerate evolution? - April 15th, 2014 [April 15th, 2014]
- 4-H program teaches children science on spring break - April 15th, 2014 [April 15th, 2014]
- Embryology Video 15: Tongue formation - Video - April 15th, 2014 [April 15th, 2014]
- Embryology In The Quran Amazing Reminder The Daily Reminder - Video - April 15th, 2014 [April 15th, 2014]
- Venous Embryology: Key to Understanding Truncular Venous Malformations - Video - April 18th, 2014 [April 18th, 2014]
- Eggciting Eggperience - April 19th, 2014 [April 19th, 2014]
- Private fertility clinics see rise in number of women freezing their eggs, but it's thought they have just EIGHT per ... - April 21st, 2014 [April 21st, 2014]
- Dr Sherif Zaki Embryology (2) 17-4-2014 - Video - April 21st, 2014 [April 21st, 2014]
- Dr Sherif Zaki Embryology (1) 17-4-2014 - Video - April 21st, 2014 [April 21st, 2014]
- Oogenesis - Embryology - April 22nd, 2014 [April 22nd, 2014]
- Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 - Wikipedia ... - April 22nd, 2014 [April 22nd, 2014]
- What is Embryology? (with picture) - wiseGEEK - April 22nd, 2014 [April 22nd, 2014]
- Cerebrospinal Fluid and Embryology - Video - April 22nd, 2014 [April 22nd, 2014]
- Pacific Fertility Center (PFC) to Present on Time-Lapse Imaging at ESHRE Annual Meeting - April 24th, 2014 [April 24th, 2014]
- Embryology 1 - Video - April 24th, 2014 [April 24th, 2014]
- Embryology and Incubation: Hatching - Video - April 24th, 2014 [April 24th, 2014]
- Embryology - Video - April 25th, 2014 [April 25th, 2014]
- Embryology of Vascular system by Dr-Abdelfatah Aglan - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- The Divine Book Part 6 Amazing Human Embryology In The Quran - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- Embryology Of Heart by Dr Rania Aboelfdl - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- Warning: Senate Races Aren't as Close as They Appear - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Texas Fertility Center Opens New IVF Lab and Surgery Center in San Antonio - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Embryology In Quran - - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Letters to the editor 5/1/14 - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- Love-split lesbians fight custody battle over twins, 5, with THREE mothers - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Embryology In The Quran (Zakir Naik) - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Dr Sherif Zaki Embryology (3) 30-4-2014 - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Embryology - GAMETOGENESIS Part 3 - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- Dr Sherif Zaki Embryology (4) 4-5-2014 - Video - May 6th, 2014 [May 6th, 2014]
- 7 [Embryology] The Proof That Islam Is The Truth [Abdur Raheem Green] - Video - May 8th, 2014 [May 8th, 2014]
- Embryology - Haid 4th - Video - May 9th, 2014 [May 9th, 2014]
- Embryology - SPERMATOGENESIS - Video - May 9th, 2014 [May 9th, 2014]
- Embryology - the Beginning of human development "first week" - Video - May 12th, 2014 [May 12th, 2014]
- Embryology Final Video Project - Video - May 12th, 2014 [May 12th, 2014]
- Embryology - Formation of The Bilaminar Embryonic Disc "second week" - Video - May 12th, 2014 [May 12th, 2014]
- David Cameron plays the Orange card - May 16th, 2014 [May 16th, 2014]
- Feathered lesson: Lone Rock students learn about embryology with chicks - May 18th, 2014 [May 18th, 2014]
- Embryology in the Quran Much Ado About Nothing Hamza Tzortzis Refuted YouTube - Video - May 18th, 2014 [May 18th, 2014]
- - Embryology In The Quran - Video - May 18th, 2014 [May 18th, 2014]
- [UTAU Release] Virtual Star Embryology [Amakune Ichigo ARIA] - Video - May 18th, 2014 [May 18th, 2014]
- Licence wait stalls work at IVF clinic - May 19th, 2014 [May 19th, 2014]
- USMLE Embryology Epispadias vs Hypospadias - Video - May 20th, 2014 [May 20th, 2014]
- GOP avoids past mistakes in Senate picks - May 21st, 2014 [May 21st, 2014]
- GOP Voters Reject Tea Party Candidates - May 21st, 2014 [May 21st, 2014]
- Embryology Development Rotation of the midgut - Video - May 21st, 2014 [May 21st, 2014]
- The Folding of the Embryo (Embryology Development) - Video - May 21st, 2014 [May 21st, 2014]
- Embryology development Foregut development - Video - May 22nd, 2014 [May 22nd, 2014]
- Embryology Development for Intestine formation - Video - May 22nd, 2014 [May 22nd, 2014]
- Scientists Are the Real ProphetsA Muslim Perspective-Part 1 - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- Udupi: Dr Satish Adiga of Manipal University to get Sir C V Raman award - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- Mothers of women with PCOS have increased risk of early death - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- Professor selected for Sir C.V. Raman award - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- ESHRE's 30th Annual Meeting - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- Three-Parent Conception Helps Reduce Risk Of Inherited Mitochondrial Disease - June 4th, 2014 [June 4th, 2014]
- SPC Embryology - Video - June 4th, 2014 [June 4th, 2014]
- Three-parent embryo technique flouts global ethics says SPUC - June 4th, 2014 [June 4th, 2014]
- Fertility clinics are 'exploiting' some infertile women, claims IVF pioneer Lord Winston - June 18th, 2014 [June 18th, 2014]
- Science Project: Body Structures, Vestigial Organs, Embryology, and Descent with Modification - Video - June 22nd, 2014 [June 22nd, 2014]
- Ridgewood students get inside look at medical field - June 24th, 2014 [June 24th, 2014]
- Donor IVF baby who says 'I wish I'd never been born' - June 26th, 2014 [June 26th, 2014]
- Pacific Fertility Centers Clinical Laboratory Director Presents at Two International Scientific Meetings in May - June 27th, 2014 [June 27th, 2014]
- The outcome of fertility treatments using donor sperm is dependent on the quality of sperm - June 30th, 2014 [June 30th, 2014]
- Children born to women after fertility treatment at greater risk of psychiatric disorders - June 30th, 2014 [June 30th, 2014]
- No link between fertility drugs and breast, ovarian and uterine cancers - June 30th, 2014 [June 30th, 2014]
- Efficacy doubts over pre-IVF hysteroscopy - June 30th, 2014 [June 30th, 2014]
- Embryology and gross anatomy 1 - Video - June 30th, 2014 [June 30th, 2014]
- Freeze-storage egg banking for egg donation treatment - July 3rd, 2014 [July 3rd, 2014]
- Preconceptional factors in the prediction of fertility and the reproductive lifespan - July 3rd, 2014 [July 3rd, 2014]
- Most women are aware of oocyte freezing for social reasons - July 3rd, 2014 [July 3rd, 2014]
- Pregnancies following egg donation associated with more than 3-fold higher risk of hypertension - July 3rd, 2014 [July 3rd, 2014]
- Embryology & Fetal Development - Video - July 3rd, 2014 [July 3rd, 2014]
- One in 100 women having IVF - July 7th, 2014 [July 7th, 2014]
- Embryology lecture 2 - Video - July 7th, 2014 [July 7th, 2014]