PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsHFE Act to be fully reviewed

BioNews

HFE Act to be fully reviewed

Published 9 June 2009 posted in News and appears in BioNews 242

Author

BioNews

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.

Public health minister, Melanie Johnson MP, has announced at the annual conference of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) that the UK government's Department of Health is to fully review the country's fertility and embryology legislation. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act was a 'landmark' piece of legislation when...

Public health minister, Melanie Johnson MP, has announced at the annual conference of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) that the UK government's Department of Health (DH) is to fully review the country's fertility and embryology legislation. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act was a 'landmark' piece of legislation when it was enacted in 1990, she said, adding that despite the speed of scientific development and the number of ethical issues raised in the area of assisted reproduction, it has 'stood the test of time well'. Its success has led to similar legislation being enacted in other countries around the world, she said.


However, she went on to say that 'any cutting edge legislation needs to be reconsidered at some point' and the HFE Act is no exception. Because of the emergence of new techniques in assisted conception and the changes in public perception of the ethical issues over the past 13 years, its 'perceived weaknesses' need to be addressed. This is also necessary due to some international developments, including the European tissue directive recently passed by the European Parliament.


The full review will begin this year, with a full public consultation on the issues taking place in 2005. Ms Johnson said that the outcome of a review already being undertaken by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee would also be taken into account. The intention of the review and the public consultation is to identify whether there is a need to update the Act. It is not, she stressed, to 'open the whole thing up' for reconsideration. Many of the issues, such as human cloning and stem cell research, have only recently been debated in parliament, she said, so would not need to be looked at again.


The issues that are likely to be considered, she suggested, were procedures that have been developed since the Act was passed and that are currently unregulated, and also those procedures that are 'on the horizon, and beyond'. The review will also consider what use information collected by fertility clinics' registers can be put to, for example, follow-up health studies of children born following the use of assisted conception. The aim of the review is to ensure that the 'Act is well-placed to continue to be effective into the twenty-first century'.


Preliminary comments from interested parties can be posted via the DH website, before the public consultation begins.

Related Articles

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
Comment
18 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

Regulating fertility treatment: more public debate is needed

by Dr Jess Buxton

Robert Winston, Britain's best known fertility doctor, stirred up a hornet's nest last week when he called for the abolition of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). His tirade against the UK's regulatory body, launched in an interview for the 'Today' programme on BBC Radio Four, included the accusations...

PET BioNews
Comment
18 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

Do the UK embryology laws need updating?

by Juliet Tizzard

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has recently announced that it will conduct an enquiry into human reproductive technologies and the law. Concerned about a number of recent legal challenges to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act 1990, the committee feels that the legislation is getting quickly...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
9 June 2009 • 3 minutes read

UK fertility laws to be reviewed

by BioNews

The UK's Department of Health (DH) is inviting views on the way that some assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are regulated in the UK. Its review forms part of a wider consultation on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act, passed in 1990, which some say has become out-of-date, 'outstripped' by...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

UK committee to recommend social sex selection?

by BioNews

The UK's House of Commons Science and Technology Committee (STC) is to recommend that couples should be allowed to use sex selection to achieve the families they desire, and that rules on the creation of 'designer babies' should be eased, according to an article in the Mail on Sunday newspaper...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

UK committee split over reproductive technology report

by BioNews

The UK House of Commons Science and Technology Committee (STC) is deeply divided over its inquiry into Human Reproductive Technologies and the Law. Only half of the ten committee members put their names to the summary report, published today alongside a Special Report detailing the committee's disagreements. The dissenting MPs...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

UK fertility expert blasts HFEA

by BioNews

The UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is incompetent, poorly organised, and should be scrapped or replaced with a more flexible body, according to Robert Winston. The fertility doctor and broadcaster made his comments on BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme, aired on 10 December. In response, HFEA chair...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
9 June 2009 • 1 minute read

Consultation to look at sex selection and other issues

by BioNews

The Science and Technology Committee (STC) of the UK's House of Commons is launching an online consultation into human reproductive technologies and the law. The consultation will be launched at a joint STC and British Academy debate on sex selection - just one of the issues to be covered in the...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

European Parliament passes tissue directive

by BioNews

The European Parliament (EP) has today adopted a directive setting high quality and safety standards for the therapeutic use of human tissues and cells throughout the European Union (EU). The aim of the 'tissue directive' is to establish a Europe-wide standard of quality and safety for the donation, procurement, testing...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

Human Fertilisation Act under scrutiny

by BioNews

The Science and Technology Committee of the UK House of Commons is to look at whether the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act of 1990 is still working effectively. The committee announced that it will conduct an inquiry into the future of the 1990 Act, in the light of a number...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« An end to anonymity?

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Placenta and organ formation observed in mouse embryo models

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Lower hormone doses may improve IVF egg quality

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Boosting muscle cell production of gene therapy proteins

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

First UK medical guidelines issued for trans fertility preservation

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Male age has more impact on IVF birth rate than previously thought

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Call to end ban on HIV-positive partner gamete 'donation'

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Melanoma invades new tissues using nerve cell gene

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Exceeding alcohol limits could damage DNA and accelerate ageing

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Blood cell gene mutations affect mitochondria, increasing cardiovascular disease risk

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Jumping gene helps immune system fight viruses

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856