Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Bill as a first step in thinking about this important issue. There are many good provisions therein. The human embryo has the potential to become a person or persons. The Bill proposes the banning of the creation of human embryos for research that could lead to cloning or human-animal hybrids and the donation of human embryos for these purposes. It rules out the deliberate creation of human embryos for the purpose of research. It states adult stem cells and pluripotent cells are subject to more advanced research in terms of finding cures for some debilitating diseases. That is debatable.

The Bill poses some very important ethical questions. I define ethics as the intention not to do harm but to do good. The Bill contains a range of sections detailing criminal offences and we need to proceed with care in this area. Let me highlight in particular the issue of in vitro fertilisation, IVF. Approximately 10% of the Irish population is challenged with infertility. Many of the affected families have been assisted through IVF or human-assisted reproduction to have a baby. Many have undergone IVF with no success. In the IVF procedure, the sperm and egg are fertilised outside the womb in a laboratory setting. Embryos created in this way do not live for more than five days outside the womb, which is important to note. Currently in Ireland, we replace up to two embryos and, in some cases, three. Surplus embryos created in the laboratory can be frozen or, if the couple does not desire this, they are allowed to die naturally. I am concerned that this Bill could be a legislative step that will in some way contribute to the criminalisation of these couples, or women, in the future. Given the nature of the IVF procedure, the women have lost embryos at the neck of the womb or, as is happening at present, have allowed embryos to die naturally that they did not wish to have frozen.

I fully accept this is not the intention of the Bill, yet it could be the effect. Therefore, legal clarification is essential. We do not want to have circumstances in which a court might rule in such a way as to make current practices difficult or illegal and thus subject Irish couples to criminal sanctions.

Consider the fate of surplus embryos that are allowed to die naturally outside the womb and which are known not to have been created deliberately for the purpose of research. Would it not be better to have the option of saving them for research instead of losing them forever? The Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction also made this point, as is evident from the speech of the Minister of State. Saving the embryos allowed to die naturally outside the womb for research could potentially lead to cures for debilitating diseases such as dementia and Parkinson's disease. In doing so, it would be a question of saving a life, lengthening a life and improving the quality of life. It is for this reason that we need to proceed extremely carefully. I welcome the Bill as an important first step. We must learn a lot but we need regulation and broader, more comprehensive legislation.