Fiona Bruce MP Speaks at Diocese of Chester Mothers’ Union in Hartford
Fiona Bruce spoke at the AGM of the Mothers’ Union groups from across the Diocese of Chester – including the Middlewich group, of which Fiona is a member - at St John’s Church, Hartford.
Fiona spoke of her work in Parliament and in particular her current Parliamentary campaign to challenge the proposed introduction by the Government later this year of the mitochondrial transfer technique. The aim of this technique is to prevent the transfer of mitochondrial disease from a Mother to a child. Whilst it is estimated it could help 5-10 people a year, the unintended consequences do, Fiona said, give cause for concern.
Fiona explained “This technique would involve removing some material from one woman’s egg and replacing it with another to create a genetically altered human being. If approved by Parliament the UK would be the first country in the world to do so. In some 60 other countries it is expressly prohibited. There are grave concerns about the safety of this technique, with warnings of the risks of sterility, impaired learning, premature ageing or slowed metabolism in any child born as a result.”
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in a very recent report state “There are still experiments that need to be completed before clinical treatment should be offered – and some are critical.”
Fiona continued, “A leading fertility expert, Professor Lord Robert Winston, said “I don’t believe there has been enough work done to ensure mitochondrial replacement is truly safe. A great deal more research ought to be undertaken before these techniques are approved.”
Fiona told the gathering of mothers “These are complex issues but the implications of passing this legislation are huge, not least by any means ethical concerns regarding these procedures which would, in effect, for the first time, legalise eugenics in this country. The procedure, if approved, would cross a line, the same procedure could potentially be used to select characteristics – blond eyes or blue hair – in other words, Designer Babies. I have requested Parliamentary time to debate these implications before any decision is taken. This is why it is so important that Members of Parliament and the public are alerted to these proposals to give them time to make their views known.
Fiona concluded “The proposed legalisation of this technique should be delayed – indeed, ideally, not introduced at all. No mother wants to conceive a child with mitochondrial disease but neither do they wish to conceive a child with genetic abnormalities because we have rushed into introducing scientific techniques which should have been tested more robustly.”
