Mary Warnock at 100: The Architect of Embryo Law

The PET (Progress Educational Trust) event 'Mary Warnock at 100: The Architect of Embryo Law' marked the 100th birthday of the late Baroness Mary Warnock by celebrating her life, work and legacy.

Described during the event as 'one of our most significant 20th Century philosophers' and a 'visionary of her time', Baroness Warnock chaired the committee that produced the 1984 Warnock Report that laid the foundations of the law on fertility treatment and embryo research in the UK and influenced regulation across the world.

As patron of PET, Baroness Warnock was supportive of the charity's role as, in her words, a 'provider of high quality, thorough and objective analysis' and so it was fitting that at this event four experts in the field were lined up to discuss her achievements.

Before turning to the speakers, Sarah Norcross, director of PET, introduced Baroness Warnock's son, Felix Warnock, administrator at the Mental Health, Ethics and Law Research Group at King's College London, who was in attendance. Warnock said that his mother would have been pleased to know that her committee provided an ethical pathway to fertility treatment and highlighted her achievement of harnessing broad public support, something that might have seemed impossible in 1984.

His mother was an applied philosopher, interested in outcomes, Felix Warnock said, a feature which appealed to the Government at the time – the problem was, he joked, was that people thought there were 'too many questions, and not enough Warnocks'.

The first speaker, Dr Duncan Wilson, from the University of Manchester's Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, elaborated on the reasons why Baroness Warnock had such an influence on public policy. Baroness Warnock positioned herself (and bioethics more generally) as an intermediary between the public, professions, and politics, and was pragmatic when it came to developing guidelines for research.

She sought to achieve compromise in areas where there was no obvious answer – exemplified by the 14-day rule, which was presented as both a scientific and philosophical landmark. It helped also that Baroness Warnock was seen as an 'outsider', said Dr Wilson, with no connection to IVF or embryology, since the Government at the time felt those outside were best positioned to scrutinise the professions to achieve public accountability.

Baroness Warnock's ability to reconcile competing interests and forge compromise, he said led to her reputation as a 'philosophical plumber', a label that would horrify many, but one she fully embraced.

The next speaker, Anna Mastroianni, professor of Bioethics and Law at the Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University, spoke about the influence Baroness Warnock had on US bioethics and fertility policy.

While not necessarily direct, and difficult to spot in the text of policy documents (the anti-abortion movement in the USA held great sway), Baroness Warnock's work impacted on those sitting on committees, who recalled their engagement with the Warnock Report, and on public policy discourse more generally. The Warnock Report became a reference point for lawyers, scientists and policymakers involved in debates about reproductive policy and stood out among the many parallel efforts in ethics, law and policy at the time. Baroness Warnock highlighted the importance of cultivating public trust in the work scientists were doing, said Professor Mastroianni.

Next, Baroness Ruth Deech, crossbench peer in the House of Lords and former chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), remembered Baroness Warnock as an assured and decisive person, whose philosophy (cultured at the University of Oxford) had a lasting, practical impact on the issues she was involved with (see BioNews 1235). Her influence in Parliament was beneficial and marked, said Baroness Deech, while outside Parliament she promoted IVF laying the foundations for 30 years of progress in fertility and embryo research.

She concluded by describing Baroness Warnock as the original quango queen and an established member of the Great and the Good, to the benefit of all of us.

Finally, Julia Chain, the current chair of the HFEA, spoke about Baroness Warnock's vision and commitment to public consultation in the context of the current review of the UK's fertility law. She said the HFEA is building on Baroness Warnock's ability to achieve ethical consensus as it considers new issues that were not contemplated forty years ago. Baroness Warnock was a visionary of her time, said Chain, testament that her framework is still being used today – yet there is work to be done to ensure it remains updated for our time and beyond.

In the questions that followed the speakers were asked what we can learn from the UK amid the polarisation of debate in the USA, particularly following recent changes to abortion law, and, in turn, what lessons could the UK learn from the USA. Professor Mastroianni highlighted the importance of carrying out public consultations to help bring people along and to both recognise and be attentive to dissenting views. Chain said it was difficult since there is little consensus in the USA and rules are different from state to state, but she agreed with the importance of public consultation. Professor Mastroianni added that the USA lacks a venue where ideas can be shared in a respectful way.

The speakers were also asked if there is a need for another Warnock Report. Chain replied that the HFEA currently has a suitable committee structure and the mechanisms needed to enable discussions with the right people and has access to advice without needing a separate commission. On whether it is possible to have HFEA equivalent bodies communicating jointly across the world, Chain said the HFEA is a 'gold standard' for other countries and is willing to share best practice but international agreement on even less controversial issues would be impossible. Professor Mastroianni and Dr Wilson pointed out that both in the USA and Europe there is too much variance between states and countries, each wanting to do things differently, such that coordination would not work.

Finally, the speakers were asked if it remains important for non-specialists to be involved in discussions about future, complex technologies. Dr Wilson highlighted that is necessary and vitally important to have non-expert involvement and this was the core of what Baroness Warnock argued. Chain agreed, pointing out that at the HFEA those involved with law and policymaking need to be able to understand the technologies, so experts need to be able to explain them in lay terms. Felix Warnock added that his mother would often say she was well qualified to chair these committees specifically because she was a non-expert. The philosophical approach is to challenge expert opinions, he said, and ask tricky questions without necessarily having knowledge of the background subject matter. Indeed, he said, professionals need someone to identify issues and present questions.

This event brought home the importance of doing so and Baroness Warnock's lasting legacy in the field of fertility and embryo research.

PET is grateful to CooperSurgical and the Adelphi Genetics Forum for supporting this event.

The next free-to-attend online events from PET will be:

• 40 Years of Egg Donation and Counting: What Have We Learned? What Happens Next?, taking place online this coming Wednesday (24 April 2024) – register here.
• 10 Families and Counting: Time for Global Limits on Donor-Created (Half-) Siblings?, taking place online on Wednesday 22 May 2024 – register here.