Unborn Children (Protection) Bill

Abstract

Enoch Powell's Unborn Children (Protection) Bill passed a second reading in the British House of Commons on 22 February 1985. The authors contend that most informed scientists are dismayed because, if enacted into law, the bill would criminalize the in vitro fertilization of any human oocytes except for purposes of "embryo insertion," and many promising avenues of research would be blocked. While the pro-life lobby maintains that the development of possible methods to cure genetic diseases does not require research on human embryos, Evans and McLaren cite scientific data to argue that such research is necessary to insure that embryos chosen for implantation are chromosomally normal, to study the etiology of chromosomal disorders and eventually develop therapies for them, to improve IVF procedures, and to develop new contraceptive techniques. (KIE abstract)