European lawmakers back new rules for stem cells

IRISH MEPs were caught between the Irish Bishops and the Irish Heart Foundation when they came to vote on rules for new medical treatments in the European Parliament.

The Irish parliamentarians were split in their vote, but almost all welcomed an outcome which, in fact, goes against the advice of the Irish Episcopal Commission.

The Catholic Church lobbied in favour of the parliament including ethical aspects in the legislation, but the majority of MEPs agreed that this was something each member state should decide for themselves.

The Bishops also demanded an EU-wide ban on medicines developed from human embryo stem cells, but this too has been left up to each member state to decide on.

The parliament supported harmonised rules for gene therapies and other new types of treatment for cancer, Parkinson’s and other serious diseases.

As a result, gene therapy and tissue engineering will be classified as medical procedures, which will have to be authorised and monitored to the same standard throughout the EU.

The new techniques are expected to lead to specialist tissue being grown in laboratories that can replace burned skin, for instance, or damaged heart valves — which is supported by the Irish Heart Foundation.

Member states will be free to allow or ban treatments and medicines based on genes, cells and tissues — a position supported by the Irish Government.

Fine Gael MEP Avril Doyle said she had been lobbied by the Irish Heart Foundation and the Irish Episcopal Conference.

“I voted against including ethical aspects as I do not want to create a precedent of ceding, to the EU, competence in decisions in the social or bio-ethical field,” she said.

Fianna Fáil MEP Brian Crowley, who voted for the ethical issues to be included, said he was very much in favour of the proposed regulation as it would benefit patients by ensuring the highest standards in these new therapies.

Independent MEP Kathy Sinnott said the parliament had missed an opportunity to include the ethical amendments. “There is no conflict between ethics and good medicine — the two are inseparable,” she said.