Health Minister Jim McGinty has introduced legislation which will allow for the creation of human embryos by methods other than fertilisation, such as somatic cell nuclear transfer, or therapeutic cloning.
Health Minister Jim McGinty has introduced legislation which will allow for the creation of human embryos by methods other than fertilisation, such as somatic cell nuclear transfer, or therapeutic cloning.
The full text of an announcement from the Minister's office is pasted below
Western Australian scientists will be able to undertake more potentially life-saving medical research under new laws introduced to State Parliament today.
Health Minister Jim McGinty said the Human Reproductive Technology Amendment Bill 2007 would allow research that could lead to improvements in fertility treatments and important medical breakthroughs in the treatment of complex diseases such as breast cancer, type one diabetes and Parkinson's disease.
"Western Australia has world-class medical researchers and this legislation will enable them to continue to break ground in the fight to save people's lives and make living with chronic diseases more bearable," Mr McGinty said.
"The Bill amends the law in respect of the regulation of embryo research and other areas of reproductive technology.
"It means that our best medical minds will be able to keep up with high quality research being undertaken in other parts of the world."
The Bill amends the Human Reproductive Technology Act 1991 and will bring WA law into line with new Commonwealth legislation, which come into effect on June 12.
If successful, the Bill will allow increased research into Assisted Reproductive Technology services such as IVF, as well as expanded research into a range of diseases.
Nobel Laureate Professor Barry Marshall, who was part of a committee which advised the Commonwealth on the development of the new legislation, said the changes were critical to future medical research in WA.
"At last our top scientists will be able to maintain our position at the forefront of the stem-cell and reproductive technology fields," Professor Marshall said.
"As new treatments become available, Western Australians will be the first to benefit, rather than having to wait or travel overseas."
The Bill allows for the first time the creation of embryos by methods other than fertilisation, which opens the doors to range of new research areas.
One such area is the creation of embryos using somatic cell nuclear transfer, where a cell from a person is placed into a human egg which has had its nucleus removed. This is sometimes called therapeutic cloning.
Embryos created using SCNT can be used as a source of embryonic stem cells. The stem cells have exactly the same genetic make-up as the person whose cell was originally used to create the embryo.
Stem cells can be developed with specific medical conditions and used to undertake research into diseases such as motor neurone disease and Huntington's disease.
There is also the potential for stem cells created in this way to be used to treat complex diseases such as type one diabetes and Parkinson's disease. Healthy stem cells which have the same genetic make-up as a patient may be able to be used to replace tissue that is damaged by disease. Use of genetically matched stem cells may avoid problems of tissue rejection that would otherwise exist.
In relation to ART treatment, the Bill will assist research into areas such as the freezing of human eggs, developing mature eggs from stored ovarian tissue and the testing of sperm quality.
The amendments will:
- Retain the existing legislation in relation to embryos created by fertilisation of human eggs by human sperm. Such embryos can only be created for the purpose of achieving pregnancy in a woman. If at the end of a patient's ART treatment there are extra embryos, they can be donated for research. Any use of the excess ART embryos for research will continue to be subject to the strict licensing requirements provided in the HRT Act;
- Retain the ban on human cloning for reproductive purposes;
- Allow the creation of embryos by means other than fertilisation for research. Both the creation and the use of the embryo is subject to the same strict licensing applied to excess ART embryos. These embryos cannot be developed for more than 14 days and must not be used for reproductive purposes; and
- Require an independent review of the legislation in three years.
Mr McGinty said while he recognised that people's views on human reproductive technology differed greatly, this legislation was sensible and safe.
"The legislation has been carefully researched to strike a balance between the desire to advance medical research and the concerns that people have about the use of human embryos," he said.
"It is my belief that the majority of people support the extension of this type of cutting-edge medical research, aimed at saving lives and assisting people to have children."
