Annette Ellis (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In speaking to the Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction and the Regulation of Human Embryo Research Amendment Bill 2006 I would, first of all, like to thank everyone from my community who has contacted me with their views on this issue. I can guarantee them that I have read all of the correspondence and the emails sent to me and I have seriously considered all of their views. In all fairness, I also need to say that I have not read all of the emails and correspondence received from other parts of the country. It has just not been possible. My work has been cut out dealing with those from my own community, and I apologise to those who will not be receiving a response from me. I have also attended several briefings on this issue—some providing objective information and others promoting a particular view for or against embryonic stem cell research. I have considered all of this information very seriously. This issue is a very complicated one, and my decision has not been taken lightly. I will be voting for this bill, and I would like to take this opportunity to outline my reasons for this decision.

First, I would like to outline what the bill is about because, unfortunately, throughout this debate there has been some scaremongering—a little bit of it—and some misinformation thrown around by a few people. This bill is about allowing certain types of research on human embryos that have been created by somatic cell nuclear transfer, or SCNT, which is sometimes called therapeutic cloning. I will avoid the term ‘cloning’ in this debate, because it does, I think, give the wrong impression. SCNT is a better description of the process which involves extracting the nucleus from a somatic cell—for example, a mature cell such as skin cell that is neither an egg nor sperm—and placing it in an egg that has had its own nucleus removed. Although it is correct to call this new entity an embryo, it is very different to an embryo created by an egg and sperm. The Parliamentary Library background note states:

There is little if any potential to create normal human life from a cloned embryo as opposed to an embryo produced through IVF, because of inadequate reprogramming of the donor nucleus.

Professor Trounson estimated recently that an SCNT embryo has less than a one per cent chance to develop into a full-term baby. In fact, the bill we are debating today retains existing prohibitions on creating a human embryo by human egg and human sperm for a purpose other than achieving a pregnancy in a woman.

This bill will allow SCNT embryos to develop only up to 14 days and no longer. There will be no circumstances under which an SCNT embryo will be allowed to develop beyond 14 days. I do not have the time here today to outline in detail other provisions of this bill, but they include provisions which strengthen the current regulatory regime on the use of embryos and human eggs and the import and export of a patient’s reproductive material. The bill also requires the minister to report to parliament within six months of the enactment of the bill on the establishment of a national stem cell centre and a national register of donated excess assisted reproductive technology embryos.

I would like to discuss in detail what this bill is not about and what it will not do—particularly because of the many myths that have been raised in this debate. This bill is not about cloning humans. The bill retains the following existing prohibitions: placing a human embryo clone in a human body or the body of an animal; and importing or exporting a human embryo clone. This bill will not allow the cloning of humans, and I would never support such a proposal—and no-one else in here would either. This bill is also not about creating a human-animal hybrid. This bill retains the following existing prohibitions: developing a hybrid embryo beyond 14 days; placing a human embryo in an animal, a human embryo into the body of a human other than into the female reproductive tract or an animal embryo in a human; and importing, exporting or placing in the body of a woman a prohibited embryo. There are very strict regulations around the use of animal-human hybrid embryos, and the development of embryos is not allowed beyond 14 days.

I would now like to discuss briefly how we got to this point and why we are now debating this bill. Currently, human cloning and research fall under two pieces of legislation: the Prohibition of Human Cloning Act 2002 and the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002. In 2005 the government announced the Lockhart review, which would provide a comprehensive review of those two acts. In December 2005 the minister tabled the report of the Lockhart review. The committee received 1,035 written submissions and heard presentations from 109 people throughout Australia. I can only imagine the passionate and heartfelt presentations that people made on these issues.

See this speech in context