
Australian parliament to vote on 3-parent babies
For the first time since the same-sex marriage debate, Australian politicians are to have a conscience vote – this time on the controversial issue of “three-parent babies”.
At least 60 babies are born every year in Australia with mitochondrial disease. Scientists say that this could be prevented by replacing the mother’s defective mitochondrial DNA with healthy mitochondrial DNA from a donor egg.
This was approved in the UK in 2015 for “specific circumstances where inheritance of the disease is likely to cause death or serious disease” after a stormy public debate. Critics claim that it could open the door to genome editing – which is currently banned nearly everywhere in the world.
The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has declared that he will support the reforms.
“I do hope we can go forward here where science allows us to do this. And as you know, I’m a person who has strong religious beliefs as well but it presents no difficulty for me on this issue. And I think the compassionate thing to do here is to find a way where if we can avoid that horrific, horrific suffering then I believe we should.”
- How long can you put off seeing the doctor because of lockdowns? - December 3, 2021
- House of Lords debates assisted suicide—again - October 28, 2021
- Spanish government tries to restrict conscientious objection - October 28, 2021
More Stories
American IVF clinics are happily offering sex selection
The United States is one of the few countries where IVF sex selection is legal – and it is a...
Owner of castration website in UK found guilty of grievous bodily harm
“Enhancement” normally connotes adding powers beyond normal human functioning. However, there are dark kinds of enhancement which remove them. A...
Shady American company advertises kit for semen theft
A Texas company marketing its “at home insemination kit” on social media is encouraging women to use the semen from...
Gaza’s IVF embryos have been destroyed by Israeli bombs
One of the many casualties of the war in Gaza has been the embryos and gametes stored at the Al-Basma IVF...
UK lesbian couple swap embryos and carry each other’s child
Another dispatch from the Reproductive Revolution. A lesbian couple in the United Kingdom have successfully given birth to two boys through...
Quebec man has two healthy fingers amputated to relieve ‘body integrity dysphoria’
Doctors amputated the healthy fourth and fifth fingers of the left hand of a 20-year-old Quebec man because he believed...