Reproduction laws to be ‘fast-tracked’
However, legislation on other issues raised in the report - many of them divisive and controversial - will likely be postponed until after the directive is dealt with.
The directive, which must be implemented by next April, covers areas such as the donation, testing, processing and storage of human tissue, including reproductive tissue.
It is still unclear whether the CAHR majority finding - that embryos should not attract legal protection until placed in the womb - will have to be clarified before the EU deadline.
However, it may be possible for the Government to fast-track legislation covering only the EU directive while leaving the divisive question of when human life begins for a more protracted and complete debate.
If it is decided that the legal status of embryos needs to be clarified in advance of the EU directive, the Government will have to face the choice of clarifying Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution, which protects the right to life of the unborn child, through an early referendum.
In a briefing note on the EU directive yesterday, the Department of Health said it would “give Ireland a framework on which to build the legislative base” for assisted reproduction activities.
According to the department, the directive applies to reproductive cells - such as eggs and sperm - foetal tissues and cells and adult and embryonic stem cells. The directive does not cover research using human tissues and cells if the results are not for application to the human body.
However, the fast-tracking of some of the CAHR’s 40 recommendations means that many others face being long-fingered.
Recommendations that surrogacy be made legal and cloning be banned are just two issues in danger of being put aside for the moment. Other recommendations, that women over 45 be prevented from seeking fertility treatment and that same sex couples be allowed to seek treatment, could also be delayed.
Oireachtas Health Committee chairman John Moloney said the committee would not be able to begin hearings on the CAHR report until July at the earliest.
