Three-parent IVF: Rights and welfare of the child must always be put first

LIFE calls on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to take into consideration the rights and welfare of every child, especially those at the embryological stage of development, when it assesses the controversial three-parent in vitro fertilisation (IVF) technique being developed by researchers at Newcastle University. It is claimed this pro-nuclear cloning technique, which produces a child with three genetic parents, will lead to children free from the devastating effects of mitochondrial disease. Serious thought must be given to the ethical problems integral to this technique, which involves an unacceptable destruction of human life and as yet unknown physical risks to the offspring and their descendents, as well as the real possibility of profound psychological impact on any resultant child.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has asked the HFEA to assess this ethically controversial technique, which involves the creation of an embryo from which the parents' genetic material are removed before nuclear fusion takes place. This is transferred into a denucleated donor embryo which has healthy mitochondria and the developmental process continues. However, the mitochondria of the donor egg have their own DNA which carry the genetic identity of the donor. Thus the child conceived has the genetic input of two mothers and a father. Little evidence exists regarding the health risks of introducing foreign mitochondrial DNA in this way. Furthermore, the mitochondrial DNA of the donor woman will be passed on from generation to generation down the female line.

LIFE spokesperson, Joanne Hill, says “Our daughter charity, Zoë's Place Trust, runs baby hospices which look after children who have serious medical conditions, life-threatening conditions, and so we are very much aware of the terrible suffering and heartache that families and children endure.

“Medical science must search to overcome and prevent such suffering, yet it must always be done in a way that respects every human being, even little human beings at the very start of their lives. This technique involves the instrumentalisation and destruction of human embryos, something that we at LIFE hold to be unacceptable, however noble the aim is.”

In light of emerging evidence from donor conceived children regarding the psychological impact of donor conception, the HFEA must also bear in mind what psychological consequences this complex technique will have on the child: What will be the effect of having two mothers? How will this affect their personal identity? What will be the impact of knowing they are the product of such a complicated technological intervention? The desire to have one's own biological child should not eclipse the well-being of the child conceived.