The General Scheme of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill was before the Oireachtas Health Committee this week. The proposed law covers such issues as sperm and egg and embryo “donations”, pre-implantation diagnosis and sex selection, embryonic and stem cell research, etc. The hearing was anything but constructive. The well-reasoned objections of witnesses like Emma O’Friel...
The forthcoming legislation on assisted human reproduction is set to build on the extremely radical approach to family relationships put in place by the Children and Family Relationships Act from 2015, a law that greatly demotes the importance of the biological ties between parents and children. In an article published in the current issue of the...
A few months ago, The Iona Institute submitted a document to the Oireachtas Committee on Health regarding the General Scheme of a Bill to regulate Artificial Human Reproduction (AHR). It is co-written by Dr Joanna Rose, who is herself donor-conceived. Two weeks ago, The Irish Times reported our submission. The report said our submission “claims”...
The Iona Institute made a submission to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health earlier this year concerning the General Scheme of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill 2017. It can be found here.
David Quinn was on RTE’s ‘This Week’ on Sunday to discuss Ireland’s proposed surrogacy law. The proposed law will outlaw commercial surrogacy but permit non-commercial surrogacy for which ‘reasonable expenses’ will be paid. Irish people will still be able to avail of commercial surrogacy abroad. David argued that surrogacy in all forms commodifies children and...
The movement toward the provision of genetic based ‘therapies’ with a clear eugenic intent has moved one step closer to becoming a reality in this State. As the Irish Independent reports, the proposal is being introduced under the guise of permitting the sex selection of an embryo in fertility clinics setting, prior to implantation, “where...
By David Mullins All kinds of restrictions are placed on the kinds of experiments that can be conducted on animals, but the proposed Assisted Human Reproduction Act 2017 does not do the same for human embryos. Surely this would strike any reasonable person as extremely unethical especially when the experiments kill the embryo? The...
The most horrific surrogacy case is making its way to the US Supreme Court. It is a perfect storm of practically all of the terrible ethical violations that bedevil the practice, even when it is non-commercial. Health Minister, Simon Harris (pictured), should study the case carefully as he prepares legislation to regulate the whole area...
Irish Times Religious Affairs Correspondent, Patsy McGarry, wrote an article last week urging the broadest use of the new techniques available in genome editing that aim to decrease the likelihood of children being born with serious genetic defects. The problem with this process is that it involves a form of experimentation on embryos which destroys...
Paul Cullen recently wrote a long article for the Irish Times about the rights of children conceived artificially through the use of sperm or eggs from anonymous donors. This controversial method, called heterologous fertilisation, raises many moral and legal issues. To what extent does this practice infringe the identity rights of these ‘donor-children’? The Assisted...
