Why we must take control of this ethical minefield
IN 1990, 12 years after the birth of the world’s first test tube baby, our nearest neighbour passed into law the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, described by then health secretary Kenneth Clarke as “probably the most important legislation in 20 years”.
It provided, among other things, the legislative framework for the creation of human embryos outside the body and their use in treatment and research, and for the establishment of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the first statutory body of its type in the world with responsibility for licensing, monitoring and advising on human embryo research and assisted reproduction treatment (ART).
