Human Fertilisation and Embryology

Frank Dobson Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Frank Dobson (Holborn and St Pancras) (Lab)]

I have a sense of déjà vu, or perhaps déjà entendu. The objections that have been brought out today, and in previous discussions, about mitochondrial disease are identical to those that arose when Louise Brown was brought into this world at Oldham general hospital as a result of the risky work undertaken by Steptoe and Edwards and Jean Purdy. That was a risk that the scientists were willing to take and that Mr and Mrs Brown were willing to take.

Not long after I became a Member, Enoch Powell proposed a total ban on embryo research. I understand people’s ethical objections to embryo research, but if they object to something on principle, they do not need to add any other references to safety or effectiveness. If someone is opposed to it on principle, they are opposed to it, and I can respect that. When the Warnock report was published, this House had a creditable debate—to those who say that the House of Lords has a better quality of debate, I say that they should read its first debate on the Warnock report, and they might modify their views. All the things that are being said today were being said then, and all the things that were said in the debates about the establishment and development of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority were the same.

In a previous speech, there were two novelties. One was that Robert Winston was being misquoted as opposing the proposal, which he cannot do any more as he actually wrote a full article in favour of it yesterday. The second was that US experts, some of the most distinguished experts who have written papers on the matter, were against it.

[Sir William Cash]

rose—

[Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury) (Con)]

rose—

[Frank Dobson]

No, I will not give way, because I do not want to take up more than my allocated six minutes.

The question arises: will it be safe and will it work? The answer is that no one can make any guarantees, but that is the nature of scientific development. The thing to remember is that mitochondrial disease is horrible and that there is no treatment for it. I remind people that the team at Newcastle university did not start off with this riskier novel approach. It has been studying and trying to come up with treatments for mitochondrial disease for the best part of 20 years, and is still doing so now. Some 90% of its work is trying to come up with a treatment. The best that it has managed to come up with after all these years is helping parents cope with the horrible symptoms before their children fade away and die. As has already been said, the team has decided that if it cannot come up with a treatment—and it is still trying—it would be better to prevent the disease arising in the first place because prevention is better than cure. That is why I hope the regulations will be passed and handed over to the HFEA. Members should realise that it is a credit to this country and to this House that the HFEA was established. We must find a middle way between the free-for-all, which a few nutters want, and the total ban, which some others want because they are opposed to embryo research on principle.

The system that has been established is well regulated through the HFEA. Despite all the predictions to the contrary, there has not been a single scandal in all the time that the HFEA has been in existence. There has been no sign of a slippery slope. These people with great reputations at Newcastle think the time is right to take risks and to risk their reputations—

[Fiona Bruce]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Frank Dobson]

No, I shall not. Those people are taking risks, because if the treatment does not work, there will be those who will gloat—even, I am sad to say, Members in this Chamber. The parents are also willing to take the risks. Parents with children do not want this to happen again, and we have the opportunity to do something about it. The results are uncertain, but that is in the nature of both medicine and science. We cannot guarantee that it will work, but the people most involved in the matter and all the scientific advisory bodies in this country think that it will work, and we should take note of what they say.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—