MPs vote to allow use of embryos in research

Amid bitter divisions, sweeping legislation passes Commons but faces
Senate fight

OTTAWA - Wednesday, October 29, 2003 - Page A1 - Federal MPs have
approved legislation paving the way for the limited use of human embryos
in medical research after a morally charged debate that divided the
governing Liberals. The measure is part of a wide-ranging bill that also
regulates human assisted reproduction and bans human cloning. The
legislation is hailed by its supporters as a badly needed set of
guidelines for the controversial science and attacked by its critics as
morally questionable.

The legislation passed 149-109, a more convincing margin than some
opponents had at first predicted. It made it through the House despite
the objections of 16 Liberal backbenchers, the entire Canadian Alliance
and Bloc Québécois caucuses and five Progressive Conservative MPs. The
New Democrats voted in favour of the bill, as did 133 Liberals and four
Tories; 41 MPs did not vote.

It must now make its way through the Senate, where it is likely to face
more challenges before being approved. "As far as I'm concerned, it will
become law," said Health Minister Anne McLellan, who shepherded the
legislation through the Commons. Paul Szabo, a Liberal MP who
spearheaded government backbenchers against the bill, pledged to fight
it in the Senate. "I'm not going to be rolled over on this one," he
said. "I'm going to fight it to the end."

The need for the legislation was flagged 10 years ago when a blue-chip
committee produced a report calling for immediate regulation. A later
bill died in the House six years ago. The most controversial portion of
the proposed legislation would allow a government-appointed agency to
approve using embryos left over from fertility clinics for stem-cell
research. Many scientists consider human embryos the best source of stem
cells, a promising component of regenerative medicine that may one day
provide treatments for several conditions, including Parkinson's
disease.

A spokeswoman for the Parkinson Society of Canada said the proposed law
will give up to 100,000 Canadians suffering from the condition reason to
be optimistic about improved therapies. "We have been strong supporters
of this right from the beginning," Suzanne Tobin said. "A lot of people
feel that this is an area of real hope."

Margaret Turner, 67, who has Parkinson's disease, said yesterday that
she wouldn't support the bill if it would create human embryos for
research. "But if they are left over, rather than have them destroyed
indiscriminately, I think it's a good idea to see them used," she said.
Ms. Turner, who was diagnosed 10 years ago after retiring as an office
manager, said she exercises regularly and keeps herself healthy for the
day when a cure or a better therapy might be found. She said she is
hopeful for improved treatment -- "if not for me, then for other
people." Ms. Turner, who watched the debate closely, takes medication
three times a day and could move to other therapies if her symptoms
worsen.

The discussion on the reproductive technology bill over the past year or
so has been reminiscent of the abortion debate, with some MPs calling
embryos the most basic form of human life. Canadian Alliance Leader
Stephen Harper said enough adult stem cells are available for research
that human embryos are not needed. "I think that there is lots of room
for scientific progress with adult stem-cell research. I do not believe
we need to be going down the route of embryonic stem-cell research," he
said.

Mr. Szabo said the bill's language would allow human reproductive
material to be implanted into non-human life forms, an assertion Ms.
McLellan rejects. "This bill is fatally flawed, there's no doubt about
it," he said.

Aside from the use of embryos for stem-cell research, the bill touches
on several areas. It bans activities such as cloning and the creation of
human-animal hybrids. It also prohibits the sale of sperm and ova and
makes commercial surrogacy illegal. Surrogate mothers can, however, be
reimbursed for expenses and loss of work-related income. The bill would
also create the Assisted Human Reproduction Agency of Canada to monitor
clinics that deal with in vitro fertilizations and fertility. The agency
would be involved in licensing, protecting the health of those
undergoing fertility procedures, and in the collection of data.

Jocelyn Downie, Canada research chair in health and law policy at
Dalhousie University, said the issue of assisted reproduction has been
somewhat lost in all the debate involving embryonic stem-cell research.
She said yesterday that the bill is the last chance to bring in a
regulatory framework for assisted human reproduction. Prof. Downie and a
group of 64 other Canadian health-care, ethics and law experts issued an
open letter on Monday in support of the bill. Prof. Downie said that,
currently, much of what takes place at in vitro and fertility clinics
across the country is unregulated.

"The message has to get out that if we don't get this we're not going to
get legislation because nobody is going to touch this again," she said.
The government appointed a royal commission on reproductive technologies
in 1989.

New Democrat MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis welcomed the legislation, noting
that the NDP got Ms. McLellan to pledge that she will try to ensure
gender parity on the board of the new monitoring agency. The restiveness
of the Liberal back bench forced the government earlier this fall to
make a deal with the NDP for its votes. She added, however, that she is
concerned that the bill may not make it through the Senate before the
Liberal government shuts down the House.

Ms. Wasylycia-Leis and other MPs have speculated that Prime Minister
Jean Chrétien may prorogue Parliament at the end of next week because of
the coming leadership change in the Liberal Party. A prorogation would
kill all legislation that hasn't passed both Houses of Parliament. "I
think the bad outcome on behalf of all these delays on the part of Paul
Szabo is that it may not get through the Senate before Parliament
prorogues," she said.

Ms. McLellan said she has spoken to Senator Michael Kirby, who heads a
Senate committee that will review the bill. "I have every confidence
that Senator Kirby will take this legislation and do a thorough job of
reviewing it and move forward," she said.

She also predicted that even if the House prorogues, the bill may come
back to the Senate in its current form in a new government led by Paul
Martin, who will become Liberal leader in November and prime minister
when Mr. Chrétien steps down early next year. Parliamentary rules allow
for government to pass a motion to resurrect a bill killed by
prorogation.

By BRIAN LAGHI
With a report from Campbell Clark
Bell Globemedia Publishing
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

--
janet paterson
an akinetic rigid subtype, albeit primarily perky, parky
pd: 56-41-37 cd: 56-44-43 tel: 613-256-8340
http://www.janetpaterson.net/

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