Presentation and PowerPoint - Murdo Macdonald

Presentation and PowerPoint - Murdo Macdonald
Comparative country experience

 

Comparative Country Experiences
 
The UK sees itself as a leader in many human biotech issues; some recent legislation has been framed specifically with maintaining this perceived pre-eminence in mind. A recent example would be the revision of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (2008). The initial draft of this revision indicated that the creation of human/animal hybrid embryos would remain outlawed. However, following a vigorous campaign by some in the scientific community, the legislation as passed included this provision, among others.
 
The future of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the UK regulatory body established as a result of the previous Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act in 1987, is currently under review. The likely outcome is that the HFEA will be abolished, with the Human Tissue Authority, a parallel regulatory body with a remit which currently excludes human reproductive material, taking on this responsibility. This is seen by some as a retrograde step, effectively removing the “special” status accorded the human embryo by the 1987 legislation.
 
Although legislation on most of these topics is established by the UK parliament, in some cases there are two other jurisdictions which come into play: European law and Scots law. Scotland is part of the UK, but functions under a separate legal system, so for example recent controversy over the indefinite storing of DNA records taken by the police during investigations, whether or not the person was then found guilty of an offence, didn’t apply in Scotland, where the DNA profile was retained only in the case of a conviction.
 
In addition, much legislation covering more novel issues such as synthetic biology is
likely to emerge via the European parliament. EU member states have some leeway as to how and when they implement some EU legislation, and the concurrent existence of national legislations can lead to anomalous situations. For example, both the UK and Spain are members of the EU, but very different legislative approaches to surrogacy means that UK parents travel to Spain, where payment of surrogate mothers is allowed, and surrogacy arrangements consequently more common.