Any new plans to regulate the Assisted Human Reproduction industry must put the needs of children first, the Iona Institute has said.
In a new position paper, launched at a Iona-sponsored conference on Saturday in Buswell’s Hotel, it says that first and foremost, a child’s right to a mother and father must be respected.
The paper, ‘Making Babies: Towards a child-centred view of Assisted Human Reproduction’, is written by columnist and teacher, Breda O’Brien.
‘Making Babies’ is a response specifically to the report of the Government-appointed Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction. Health Minister Mary Harney is currently considering the recommendations of the commission and is considering a regulatory framework for the industry.
The paper recommends that the welfare of the child should be the primary consideration in AHR and that children should have the right, where possible, to be raised by their parents.
The paper also recommends that the right of fertility clinics to choose to treat only married couples should be enshrined in law and that donor anonymity should be abolished.
All donors, the paper urges, must commit to update personal and medical information on a regular basis, and be aware that offspring may some day seek contact.
The conference was hosted by columnist, John Waters. Other speakers included Dr Joanna Rose, who is a campaigner for the right of children conceived via AHR (‘donor-offspring’). She is herself a donor-offspring.
Speaking at the launch Ms O’Brien said that there were “recurring themes of aching loss in children who discover that they have been separated from their heritage, and may never have a relationship with their biological family”.
She continued: “We need to learn from best practice in adoption, and realize that what seems to ‘solve’ the problem of infertility, may have unintended consequences of loss and grief for children conceived in this way.
“At a minimum, children have a right to know how they are conceived, and to be able to access not just medical, but other personal and family information.”
At the conference, Dr Joanna Rose, who is a campaigner for the rights of children conceived via AHR and is herself a donor offspring, said she opposed the use of donated eggs and sperm by the AHR industry on the grounds that this automatically and deliberately deprives a child of the right to be raised by his or her own biological parent.
She said “identity issues” faced the thousands of donor off-spring who are now in adulthood and compared with the issues facing many adopted people.