A sticky wicket
This is going to raise a lot of eyebrows. From
The Independent:
(
Heads up -- the news item and story come from England so when they talk about Lords, these are lawyers and politicians -- not religious figures.)
Lords lifts final legal barrier to 'saviour siblings'
The final legal barrier to the creation of "saviour siblings" to treat children seriously ill with genetic disorders has been swept away by the law lords. In a landmark case, the House of Lords ruled yesterday that using modern reproductive techniques to create babies to be used to treat siblings could be authorised by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
The decision delighted scientists and marked a victory for the couple at the centre of the case, Raj and Shahana Hashmi, who are hoping to have a baby with a similar tissue type to their son Zain to treat his rare blood disorder. Mrs Hashmi said : "It's nice to know society has now embraced the technology to cure the sick and take away the pain. It has been a long and hard battle for all the family and we have finally heard the news we wanted to hear.
And what of the 'saviour' -- I can see doing a tissue culture but attempting to clone or GM a foetus for the sole purpose of repairing genetic damage of a previous child is unconscionable. What health and/or quality of life issue will this new child have?
I can sympathize with the parents; having a child who is genetically ill must be horrible, but there is probably a time where basic reality and possible medical alternatives conflict and it's probably best to stop there.
Posted by DaveH at April 28, 2005 10:32 PM