New Three-Parent Baby Law ‘is Flawed and Open to Challenge’, says Senior Lawyer
By Steve Connor,
The Independent [UK]
| 01. 14. 2015
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The Government’s attempt to legalise so-called “three parent” babies is open to challenge by judicial review because of serious flaws in the proposed legislation, a senior lawyer has warned.
Legislation to allow mitochondrial donation is either unnecessary or invalid under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, according to international law expert Lord Brennan QC.
The written opinion, which has been passed to parliamentary authorities, says there are “significant doubts” about the legality of proposed regulations being introduced by the Department of Health.
Lord Brennan states: “If the regulations are approved in their current form, they may be open to challenge by way of judicial review.”
The Government has introduced new regulations to allow mitochondrial donation – where genetic material of two women’s eggs is merged with a man’s sperm, to ensure women with mitochondrial defects do not pass on mutations to their children – because it was thought that the controversial IVF technique was specifically banned under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008.
The Act defines a “permitted” egg or embryo as one whose “nuclear or mitochondrial...
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